Mistake
by Bitter Recognition
Summary: Rowan Thompson was a normal girl, really. She had a doting mother and father and an adorable little brother... And then she moved to Scotland. Who knew vampires were real? Certainly not her. Although the eldest son was quite a looker... I'm making a 'sequel' to this, but adding it to the original story. Hi. c;
1. Scotland

**Summary: Rowan Thompson was a normal girl, really. She had a doting mother and father and an adorable little brother... And then she moved to Scotland.**

**I'm attempting to keep this at the year 2000, when the movie came out but it's hard for me, hehe. My memories of 2000 include falling over my auntie Sharon's house, aged four. I had a CD player at maybe aged nine? I'm sure they were out sooner, though. I mean an actual portable CD player, the little ones where it was only the size of the disk.**

**Rowan is a meh teenager. She isn't all god and she isn't all bad.**

**Smoking is very dangerous and can lead to a variety of cancers and ultimately, if you want to start smoking, I wouldn't. I tried it a few months back now and it isn't what all the **_**cool **_**kids make it out to be. You smell like shit and the first few times, you may go slightly dizzy from the nicotine rush.**

* * *

I slid the bulky headphones over my fringe and listened to _Jagged Little Pill _by Alanis Morissette. My mom and dad had bought me both the compact CD player and the disk for my fourteenth birthday; I haven't stopped listening to it since. The disk was slightly scratched and the CD player occasionally jumped, but it was still perfect to me. It was the best gift they'd ever gotten me; sure, they'd bought me clothing, given me money - but the CD played was something that could be used over and over.

I subconsciously tugged on my hair, straightening it out so that it looked perfect, considering I'd been stuck on this _damn _plane for well over four hours now and my legs were cramping from the flight. I longed to get up and walk to the bathroom and back, but that meant actually _getting_ up.

"You okay, kid?" a man asked. He wore dark clothing and had several piercings on his face. I just nodded and sighed, pushing my legs out and leaning on my dad. "You sure?" He smirked wickedly, eyeing my shoes. I looked down and flushed - my bunny slippers were comfortable!

I stuck my tongue out childishly - he smiled back, settling down to lean on the window seat.

I grinned and hid into my dad's side, settling down and turning up the volume on my CD player.

* * *

"Come on honey, wake up," my mom squealed, throwing open the curtains to my room. I hissed angrily; the light was near blinding and after that flight, I was tired and extremely jetlagged. "We're decorating today!"

I pushed myself out of bed and grabbed some old bed sheets. Soon, the floor was covered in the dusty sheets and I began to paint the old wooden vanity that my mom picked up from one of her new 'friends' (ie, a crane-necked, nosy busy body who wanted to know all about the new family).

"I'm already bored and I haven't even begun!" I huffed, grabbing a bobble and tying my long hair back. Mom came over wordlessly and took the paint brush off me.

"Go get the Tracy Chapman disk and put it in the CD player; time will go faster when you're listening to something you enjoy!"

I did just that. The music seemed to pound in the old room but I was happier listening to it. Before I knew it, the vanity, wardrobe, the old desk and chair in the room were painted white with light blue detailing.

I went downstairs with mom while they dried and washed the paint off of my hands. "What do you want for dinner, mom?"

"I'll make it sweetie!" Mom said, toddling off to call Tony down.

I pulled out some pasta and filled a pan with water and salt. I lit the gas stove with my lighter and set the pan on it to boil. Once it did, I filled it with the pasta shells and pulled out some bowls. _What was taking mom so long? _I sighed and went to the pantry. I came out with two jars of tomato sauce and drained the pasta. Soon, there were three bowls full of tomato pasta sat on the side, covered with a liberal amount of cheese and mom _still _hadn't come back down with Tony.

I began to eat my pasta and finished it in record timing; two spoons were grabbed and I went up stairs to take them their dinner.

"Mom?" I called, using my shoulder-blade to push the door knob down and let myself into Tony's room. Tony was being crushed in my mom's arms and she was laughing. "I've got food!"

* * *

By the time dad got home, my room was done... and it was perfect. The vanity was glistening and the mirror was shined. The room was being aired out, but the colour scheme was blue and white. My bed was a double; it was quite tall and pushed against a wall. At the foot of the bed, there was a large 'treasure' box that I kept my shoes in and would be an excellent hiding place if Tony ever made friends and they wanted to play Hide and Seek. Not that he would, actually, make friends - he hated Scotland almost as much as

The bed was four-poster with white, lace curtains on the inside and thick, baby blue curtains on the outside. It blocked out any light but maintained the light atmosphere. The duvet was a plush, bright white and the pillows were the same. It looked so comfortable. I had a large set of windows that mom pushed one of our sofa's beneath with plumped up blue pillows and an old, porcelain doll that once belonged to my grandmother. I couldn't help but beam happily at it and held it in my arms.

"We've done it, gran. We're finally here and I think everything is going to be okay, now. Mom and dad haven't shouted at each other in a while but Tony is really upset with the fact that we've moved. I don't know how to make him happy, but I think he'll be okay. Our schools are joined... kinda'. I can see him at break times and lunch times, sometimes between lessons 'cause the schools came up with a visiting program. I can look after him, but you'll be doing that for me, right?"

I sighed and put the doll down. I flung myself on the sofa and grinned. So far, I _loved _it here.

* * *

The woman gave a tiny, mocking smile and whispered to her subordinate; "The Thompson's have moved, finally."

The Fae woman gave her a smile back and left, her mind spinning. They weren't meant to leave yet.

* * *

The curtains to the my bed were flung open and I growled. Who disturbs my rest? "Rowan..." Tony whimpered, his eyes red and bloodshot. "I had a bad dream..." My heart melted and I held up the duvet. He slid in and wrapped his tiny arms around me after shutting my curtains.

"What was it about?" I asked quietly, pulling him closer and throwing one of my legs over his. He snuggled into my chest.

"Vampires..." he murmured. I clutched him tighter. That's weird.

"What was happening?" I asked again, stroking small circles into the small of his back. I used to have to do this when he was a baby; he never calmed down for mom and dad, but he always did with me.

"T - they were chanting, and holding a stone up to the sky, and then these people came on a horse-drawn cart thing, they had stakes and crosses and the vampires were screaming and crying and flying and there was so much _blood _and there was fire - " I cut him off by kissing him on his nose.

"Don't worry, Tony. It's just a dream, okay? You're safe, you're fine, nothing can hurt you, especially when I'm here, okay?" The wind howled ominously outside and he yelped. "Relax, Tony! It's just the wind."

"Or the undead..." he muttered petulantly and I smirked. I pressed another kiss to his nose and shut my eyes.

"If we don't get some sleep, we'll be the undead. Are you warm enough? Comfy? We have school tomorrow..."

And by the time morning drew around, I was annoyed from sleep deprivation. Tony had kicked, tugged my duvet off of me, drooled... "You little!" I growled at his near unconscious body and shook my head, laughing slightly.

I crept out of my bed and slid the curtain shut before he was affected. It took another hour of coaxing before Tony would finally fall asleep, so I figured I'd be a good sister and set his clothes out for him, socks and shoes included, before making his lunch and his school bag for him. He needed his rest.

When that was all done, I got ready; I had a shower, carefully combed out any knots in my hair with a wide-toothed comb and dabbed on some concealer, powder and mascara. We didn't have to wear uniforms at this new school so I pulled on a black high-waisted skirt and a white shirt. I tucked the shirt into my skirt and shrugged on a red, knitted jacket that my mom made me. I did a once-over in my vanity mirror and nodded. I hoped I looked okay; my hair was drying quickly and I tugged pieces over my shoulders, brushing my fringe out and clipping it back.

I checked the time and saw it was only 7:30am and sighed. Tony needed to be woken up at 8:15am. Urgh. I went into one of my vanity drawers and pulled out a packet of cigarettes and my lighter. I flicked the Zippo lighter open and then lit it, the flame taking a few tries but eventually staying. I opened the pack of cigarettes and pulled one out, lighting it then starting it up. I took a deep drag and inhaled, before walking over the sofa and opening the wide windows. I hadn't realised this before, but one of them opened out to a wide balcony. I grinned. Perfect.

I stepped out on the balcony and exhaled the smoke. Almost immediately, the tension left my shoulders and my hands stopped shaking. I know smoking is bad for me, don't get me wrong. However, I started aged thirteen and it was now a very addictive habit. To tell me to stop now would call for a kick in the teeth. I quickly finished the ciggy and threw the butt down into the bushes below. I climbed back into my room and sprayed myself liberally with perfume and body spray.

I went into my trunk and pulled out some white flats. I put them on and left my room, making sure that Tony was tucked in and content.

"Morning, mom," I yawned, stumbling into hers and dads bathroom, grabbing my toothbrush and their toothpaste, making sure there was a liberal amount on the brush. "How are you this fine morning?"

"Just fine, Rowan!" she chirped. I gurgled around a mouthful of toothpaste and spat some of it out. "You know, me and your dad are thinking of buying you a desktop computer..."

I choked on the toothpaste and spray went everywhere. "Mom, they cost a lot! No, no!" I objected furiously. Desktop computers were a relatively new thing but they were becoming increasingly popular, and more expensive because of this, because of the World Wide Web. They were very, _very _expensive, in my eyes. Not worth it. I'd rather buy thousands of books, instead.

"But - "

"No!" I exclaimed again. "You'd be better putting the money into a college fund for Tony and I, instead. Don't waste your money on something so trivial."

Mom looked shocked and slightly annoyed, but I refused to back down. She was trying to spoil me because I wasn't too happy about having to leave California to live _here._ In _Scotland_. That didn't mean I wanted everything!

I swilled my mouth out without another word and left the room, walking down the wrought iron steps to get breakfast. I'd brush my teeth again later.

I made my lunch, a sandwich with mayonnaise as the butter and chopped tomatoes as the filling, and placed it into a box. I also put in a bottle of chilled Coca Cola into the box and placed it into my drawstring duffel bag. I had a pencil-case stuffed in there, as well as a A4 drawing pad, a slightly-larger-than-A5 notebook in there and several books in there. It was quite light, all things considered.

"Mom?" I called up the stairs, dropping my bag by the front doors.

"Yeah?" she replied, sounding shook up and my brow unconsciously furrowed in annoyance. I wiped my face clear of emotion when she appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Please could we go shopping at the weekend? I was wondering if I could get some oil paints, brushes, coal and maybe an easel?"

"Sure, sweet pea!" she chirped again. She sounded happier now that she had a chance to spend money. _Oh, mom._"When are you getting Tony up?"

"I'm getting him up at 8:15, is that okay?"

"No! He needs to be up earlier! I still have his sandwiches to do - "

"Already done!"

" - and he needs to get his clothes sorted - "

"Done that too!"

" - and he needs to have some breakfast - "

"He's on mixed up warm Weetabix, covered liberal in honey and sugar!"

" - and it's a thirty minute drive; you need to be early!"

Well, damn. Looks like I'll get him up sooner than expected - but hey, he still had a lie in. "'Kay, mom!"

I made myself some extremely sugary coffee to perk me up and began to make breakfast for Tony. I popped some bread in the toaster for myself and then placed two Weetabix into a bowl. I poured in some milk and honey before placing it in the microwave. The timer was set for two minutes and it was stirred thoroughly one minute in.

When the gloop was steaming, a spoonful of sugar was sprinkled over the top and the toast was done. I grabbed the toast and scoffed it, taking two steps at a time to get the food to Tony. "Tony!" I howled. I heard him screech and heard the tell-tale sign of him lurching out of bed. "Breakfast!" I beamed at him, carefully handing him the steaming bowl and sitting at the desk.

"Thanks, Rowan, but you didn't have to wake me up like that!" He gave me an angry look, taking a spoonful of the brown gloop.

I just grinned at him. "I've got your clothes sorted," I gestured to the bottom of the bed. "And your bag is set. Are you allowed coke at school? If you're not, I'll come find you and protect you from the evil teachers!"

He snorted and grinned, nodding his head. His blond hair was devoid of gel and it flopped over into his eyes. I grabbed my gel hair spray and sprayed some into his locks. Tony was, by now, used to my random urges and just sighed. I grinned down at him and began spiking his hair for him. Ten minutes later, his bowl was washed and dried and my coffee was part-way drunk. "Are you nearly done, Row?" Mom asked tiredly.

"Are you okay, mom?" I asked quietly, so that Tony wouldn't worry.

"I don't know. I forever feel sick and tired..." she moaned back, rubbing her back.

"Go the doctors, okay?" Mom never, ever got ill. _**Ever**__._

"Can we go now?" Tony pouted. I sighed and nodded, tipping my coffee down the sink and I grabbed a packet of bubble gum from one of the cupboards. I was clever and decided that I should have three suitcases; two large ones and one medium one. The medium one was jammed full of food from California that I absolutely adored and could lord over Tony.

I popped a raspberry flavoured one into my mouth and nodded, picking up my bag and leading the way to the car.

* * *

I huffed and sat next to Tony. It was lunchtime and I had to endure several taps on the arse, bad accents that people seemed to enjoy making _worse _when I was around and teachers who forced me to stand at the front of the classroom and tell them all about myself. Urgh. "Have you made any friends yet, kiddo?" I asked politely, eyeing a teacher who looked willing enough to yell at me.

"No!" he burst out, with an angry scowl on his little face. I pecked him on his lips absent-mindedly and the scowl was gone, in place of an open mouth and blushing face.

"I'm sure you'll make fiends... What about the McAshton boys? They have a cousin in my class and he seems... okay."

I knew it was the wrong question when his face paled and he tucked himself into my side. "They keep teasing me," Tony said, muffled by my clothing. "And they tell me I should go _back tu' wher' a' came from!_" He pulled off the accent surprisingly well.

"Excuse meh' lass, who're yu'?" the teacher called, jogging over to us.

"I'm his sister, who the god damn hell are you?" I replied, snarling.

"I'm his teacher, missy. Mind yur' language before I get yu' inta' some trouble!" The teacher seemed more annoyed that I was a family member than my blaspheming, as his eyes trailed over my own blonde hair and blue eyes and then at the top of Tony's head. "Do yu' 'ave a pass to be here?"

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" I burst out. "Of course I have a pass!" I thrust the little red slip into his blunt fingers.

_Name: Rowan Marie Thompson_

_Age: Fifteen_

_Birthdate: 30th October 1985_

_Sibling: Tony James Thompson_

_Can See Sibling For: All year, all times if not in lessons_

"Oh..." the teacher replied and he strolled away after I snatched the pass back off him. Tony started giggling in my side.

"What are you laughing at, aye?" I asked but I was smirking, too. He started laughing.

"You're so scary, Row! How come you didn't get in trouble, though?"

"They probably know about me and my _issues_. Don't both schools have to read our files, so they know what they're taking on?"

"I don't know," he mused. "Probably... What does that say about you, then?"

"That I'm a reckless S-O-B with '**Danger! Approach with caution!' **wrote on my head."

Tony slapped my arm. "You know mom hates it when you swear; you'll get into a lot of trouble for it, especially around children!"

"Aw, am I harming your delicate sensibilities? Where is your lunch?"

"Um.. the McAshton boys took it and stomped on it and tried to cover my head in the coke..." Tony admitted weakly. Fury ran through me. How _dare _they? Unbidden, I got to my feet, grabbed my bag and grabbed Tony's wrist.

"Where do they sit?" I hissed.

"Don't, you'll make it worse!"

"Where. Do. They. _Sit?_"

"In the cafeteria - "

By the time I'd actually realised I could seriously damage Tony's social life and dad's job, one of the boys was crying from a verbal strip down and the other was glaring bloody murder into Tony. "I swear to god, if either of you two mess with _my brother _again, you will regret it. I will **destroy** you."

With those parting words, I spun on my heel and pushed Tony over to the canteen. "What do you want, kiddo?" I asked him quietly, aware of the silence that had taken over the room.

"Just - just a sandwich, please..." he spoke, his voice tiny and squeaky.

"Please may I have a chicken or cheese sandwich, please?" I asked the woman behind the counter politely, one of my hands clenched into a tight fist.

"O'course, lass, and if you don't mind me' sayin'... those lads got what were' comin' for 'em." The woman gave me a subtle wink and handed me a carefully wrapped sandwich. I wordlessly handed her the required money and stormed off, Tony in tow.

* * *

"What do you _mean_ you threatened those boys?" Mom screamed at me. I just sneered and walked away from her, up to my bedroom. I slammed the door shut and dragged the wardrobe over to make sure it couldn't be opened.

They deserved it, right? I wasn't being a bad sister, was I? I didn't hurt them, really. If it isn't physical harm, then I'm fine. Right?

I sighed and leant into my wardrobe, removing a long, thick piece of rope. I moved the sofa out of the way of the window and opened the door; walking on to the balcony, I tied one end of the rope to the rails and let it flop uselessly down the side of the castle we were living in.

I went inside my room, changed into tights and pulled some thermal leggings on over the top. I then changed into some jeans and pulled on thermal socks. They'd keep me warm; I refuse to stay in this house tonight. I did what any sister should have done, right? I found a jumper and pulled off the white shirt. I grabbed another white, strappy top and shimmied into it, before putting on the jumper.

I grabbed a spare hoodie and put that into my duffel bag, before getting my quilted jacket and putting it on. I looked a mess, but I had to get out.

I grabbed some shoes and filled my bag up with sweets and money and applied heavier make up. Mom was shouting at my door and I felt terrible for causing her so much distress, but... I couldn't stay here now.

Pulling open my vanity drawer, I pulled out my cigarettes and lighter and left through the window.


	2. The Vampires

**Summary: Rowan Thompson was a normal girl, really. She had a doting mother and father and an adorable little brother... And then she moved to Scotland.**

**Also; I'm making Rudolph slightly older. I watched the movie the other day and he acts like an adult in it... so I'm making him older. c;**

* * *

I stayed out for about an hour; Scotland was absolutely freezing at night. The grass had frozen dew clinging to it and it wasn't even ten o'clock!

I climbed up the rope carefully, using the old wall to help me up. As I reached my balcony, I grabbed on to the platform and pulled myself up, hoisting my body over the fencing and leaving the rope where it was. There was no point moving it; chances are, I'd be straight back down it once my mom knew I'd left. I sighed and had another cigarette, stubbing it out on the wall and throwing it into the bushes below.

I went into my room. My room was _freezing_ but the wardrobe was still there, standing strong. I sighed and dropped my bag, pushing it under my bed. I then stripped off into pyjamas and pulled the wardrobe away from the door. "Mom?" I called out carefully, opening the door. "I'm sorry!

"They've gone out!" Tony exclaimed from his room, sounding very scared. "Rowan, come in here please - "

There was a sound of something hitting his door and I slammed myself into his door, the door stopping once it slammed something - or rather, some_one_ - into the wall.

"Holy - " I tried not to swear. "Who are you?" I asked cautiously, moving into Tony's room and settling on the floor next to the boy. He had pale, pale skin and icy blue lips. "Shit, are you okay? You look freezing - "

"Can you walk?" Tony asked quietly, coming to kneel beside me. The boy's eyes flashed open and I was enthralled by the colour of them. They were a deep crimson, with a ring of grey.

"Who needs to walk," the boy began, struggling to sit up. My sister-instincts kicked in and I helped him, supporting his back and lifting him up carefully. He was frightfully cold, even through his clothing. "When you can fly?"

The boy leapt out of my arms and when I blinked, he was floating. _Floating. _"Tony, he's... floating."

The boy began to flail and then he fell. I withheld a yelp and rushed to my room. I got my bag and emptied it out again, putting my cigarettes and lighter back in there but also getting my First Aid box and placing it into the bag. I also got my thick black parka jacket for the boy and put on some flats.

I rushed down the stairs, taking two at a time and then hiding behind a pillar when I saw the babysitter. Just _where _have mom and dad gone?

I leapt across each pillar until I reached the end and pulled open the big doors. Tony was hobbling along behind me but I rushed on ahead. "Kid, are you okay?"

I received a groan in response. "'M too weak..."

"Do you need help?" The boy rolled over and breathed. His red eyes were watching me carefully.

"What twisted kind of mortals are you?" he replied.

"What do you mean? You need help..."

"Mortals don't help vampires," the boy began, attempting to sit up _again_. "So why are you helping _me_?" I grabbed him and rested him on my body, stretching my legs out. He was a vampire? What - like Dracula?

"I know you," I replied. "I've seen you in a dream and I know Tony has, too."

"Must have been a nightmare..."

"It was for Tony," I grinned cheekily at him. "I was too distracted by the people, really."

"What's your name?" he asked, leaning up to stare at me again. Tony used to do this as a little boy.

"My name is Rowan, what's yours?" I replied, smiling. He was too cute, even if he was masquerading as a vampire - _he floated! _My brain screamed back at me. Maybe... he was a vampire? A real vampire?

"My name is Rudolph Sackville-Bagg." He smiled sweetly, revealing sharp teeth and two deep dimples.

I heard the crunch of gravel behind me and knew Tony had finally caught up. "Are you okay, dude?"

"I must leave." The boy's eyes became guarded at the sight of Tony and I wondered why. Surely he should be skitty around me?

"How are you going to leave? You can't even walk." Tony pouted.

A truck came past, beeping with lights flashing.

"Rookery!" the boy - Rudolph hissed and I tried to hide him from the light. Tony glared at me and I smiled back. Score one for Rowan! "Do you... do you know where I can get a cow?"

Tony shrugged. "If you want a glass of milk-"

"Blood, idiot. He needs blood." I cut him off, shaking my head.

Rudolph laughed slightly. "Hurry?" he pleaded, attempting to raise his arm, only for it to flop uselessly to his side.

"Tony, go get your wagon and my bike." I commanded, picking the vampire up and holding him securely to my hip. Tony rushed to obey, coming back with my green back and his red wagon. I hooked the wagon to my seat and carefully placed the boy into the wagon. I wordlessly handed him my black parka jacket and sat on the sheet, preparing to ride.

"What about me?" Tony exclaimed.

"Get on the handlebars! Like we used to, before mom found out." I commanded again and then I began to peddle once he got on. I made sure we didn't go near any hills so that we didn't fly down them and, after twenty minutes of tedious peddling that reminded me just _how _unfit I am, we reached a barn. "I hope there's - " I panted. "Cows here!"

"Thank you, Rowan." Rudolph grinned, flashing his dimples at me. I melted and resisted the urge to coo.

Tony leapt from my handlebars and pushed harshly on the barn doors. "They won't move!" As he finished talking, the doors opened with a loud creak and Tony went flying.

I sniggered and picked Rudolph up again. "I'm okay, miss... You don't need to carry me."

"Yes I do. You're like Tony, before he reached the '**I'm a teenager now, leave me** **alone**,' stage." And the boy clamped his lips shut... but he still didn't stop staring at me. It was slightly unnerving but I've been stared at before by stranger people than him.

I let him leave my arms once we got to the first cow and still, I made him lean on me. "Your eyes are getting heavy... You're falling into a deep sleep..." The cow's eyes began to droop and Rudolph bit into the cow. It let out a whimper of pain and I shut my eyes.

I had to leave the moment he began sucking the blood from the cow and I made Tony stay in there with him. I pulled out my cigarettes and began to smoke one of my last ones. The feel of it was soothing, especially since I was in a short pyjama jumpsuit and the Scottish wind was biting. I was tempted to take my parka off of him, especially since it came to my knees and protected me so well - did vampires need to regulate body temperature?

Soon even Tony came out, his face pale. I finished my cigarette and flicked the butt away.

Tony's attention was taken away by the truck that seemed to have followed us. It was beeping loudly, lights whirring around the sky and cutting through the mist. Tony began to walk out into the road, curious. "Come back, Tony." I sighed. I panicked, however, when the truck's light landed on Tony and Tony began to groan, covering his eyes. "The fuck?" I murmured - I walked out to him, reaching him once the trucks motor started. "Tony, he's going to fucking kill us - we're screwed, Tony, he's going to run us over!" I began to hyperventilate. I grabbed him by his waist and started dragging him back.

And then it started to move. "Balls, Jesus fucking Christ, oh my God - " Tony started screaming as the truck sped up.

"Shut your eyes!" Rudolph yelled and then we were away from the light, wind nipping at us. There was no earth beneath me. "You can open your eyes now." Rudolph said gently and we were dropped on something squishy.

My eyes shot open and slammed shut immediately. "What. The. Hell?"

"Enjoying the view?"

"No, I hate the view!" I squeaked. "Hate it, hate it!"

"Rowan's got a things about heights, dude. And, thanks. You saved my life. That truck was gonna' splatter me."

"You keep calling me dude... my name's Rudolph." Rudolph replied sweetly and my eyes opened slightly. I was petrified, but...

"Dude is slang... like you'd call a friend." Tony was too, too cute.

"A friend?"

"Yes, you saved our lives. We saved yours." Tony replied, leaning against the boy. "This makes us friends, doesn't it?"

"Yes, friends..." Rudolph sounded very cute and adorable. "Are we friends too, Rowan?"

"Yes, I suppose we are." I grinned at him.

"My best friend's a vampire!" Tony yelled, starting to bounce on the... what? I looked down. Blimp. We were on... a blimp. Well, fuck.

After a few minutes of Tony bouncing, I began to shiver. "Oh!" Rudolph exclaimed. "There was no need for you to give me your jacket, miss - "

"Call me Rowan, please."

He smiled brightly. "Hold your arms out." I did as he asked and felt the jacket, freezing, being placed on.

"Thank you," I replied, shocked at how cold it was. "But we must be getting home, Rudolph."

"But how do we get down from here?" Tony yelled.

"We fly!" Rudolph grinned again. He was a smiley, happy person and his happiness was catching.

"But I can't fly..." Tony sounded really, really confused.

"I got you up here, didn't I? Stay calm, **friend**."

I grasped on his arm and shut my eyes again. I trusted him. "All right, we fly." he declared and stood up, tugging my weight with him. I was shocked and slightly embarrassed; my brain just went blank for a moment. Of course he couldn't fly if we were sat down! Stupid Rowan, stupid!

Tony didn't move. "As long as I'm holding on to you, you'll be fine."

"Trust me."

And then we were off of the blimp and I wanted to cry. My stomach was doing flip-flops and I didn't feel safe. I clung tightly to his hand and slowly, I crept up his arm until I was wrapping my legs around his waist and my head was pressed into his neck. Heights did not agree with me.

"Wooh!" Tony laughed. "Wow, it's great to be a vampire!"

Rudolph sounded too amused for his own good and replied, "Membership does have it's privileges. Like pretty women clinging to my neck..."

Tony seemed to ignore him, but my heart started pounding quicker and my face flushed. He was around my age - maybe a little younger - and the little charmer knew just what to say to make me blush.

"Look, my mom and dad are at a party there!"

I blearily opened my eyes and stared at the mansion. It was bright and you could hear bagpipes. "Is that the McAshton mansion?"

"Yeah, not that you'd know." I clung to Rudolph tighter and sighed. That was to be expected, really.

"Why wouldn't you know, Rowan?" Rudolph asked, still sounding amused.

"Snuck out," I whispered into his ear. "Couldn't stay there longer..."

"You'd probably find a friend in my brother, Gregory," he replied, laughing. "He's always like that, but he's still my brother and I love him."

I nodded into his neck as he dropped us near the river. I soon tuned out, until we were nearing our home. "What?" I asked sleepily.

"Is your window open?" Tony asked again.

"Yes, why?"

"Mom and dad are rushing home and my window is shut." Tony seemed really annoyed, actually. I wonder why?

"Oh.. just go into my room and we'll say we've slept in there."

I kicked my shoes off once we got to my room and chucked the parka into my wardrobe, still in the wrong place. I settled into my bed after pushing Rudolph beneath the bed and ripped Tony's glasses off of his face. "Pretend to sleep!" Rudolph commanded. "Someone's coming!"

I could hear the hysterical babysitter but nodded anyway, pulling Tony into me and resting my chin on his head. I shut my eyes and prayed the curtain covered Rudolph. Tony's door slammed open and then mine followed. My curtains were flung open and I pretended to shoot up, half asleep. "What's going on?" I growled, hoping my hair was mussed up from the flight home.

"Oh, sweetie - " Mom began and I flung myself into her arms.

"I'm sorry about earlier mom, I felt like I was doing what's right for Tony and he knows that, now."

"It's okay sweetie, but we still need to talk about what happened. You can't just do that to someone..."

"What's that smell?" Dad started sniffing. "It's the window, I think. Rowan, why didn't you shut it?" I just giggled into my mom's neck.

"My room was too warm," I told her quietly. "Sorry." She pushed my hair out of my face and kissed me on the nose.

"Yu' weren't here earlier - " the babysitter began, her brown eyes spitting annoyance at me. I gave her a cheeky wink, which only seemed to irate her further.

"It's okay, Barbara." Mom sighed and let me go. I flopped back down into bed and settled beside Tony. "Night night, sweetie!"

They left and _didn't shut my curtains. _I huffed petulantly and flung them open wider. "You can come out now Rudolph!" Tony said, excited.

"Are those your parents?" I nodded at the boy, smiling. "They look very nice."

"And tasty?" Tony asked, his vindictive side shining through. I leant across the bed and cuffed him around the ear. "What was that for?"

Rudolph snorted and said; "No, they look _nice_. As in, very nice."

"They have their moments," Tony shrugged and I was torn between hitting him and slamming my head into the wall. He was so rude sometimes! "Now Rowan, move!" He pushed me and I went flying out of my bed.

"Holy - " Cold arms wrapped around my waist. "You little sh - brat! Get out of my bed with your shoes on!" I leapt out of Rudolph's arms and began to drag Tony out of my bed, trying to get rid of the blush I knew was on my face.

Rudolph was laughing at us and I couldn't help but smile. He was _too _cute.

"I suppose I must take my leave..." Rudolph sighed, going to my window. "I haven't had so much with people since I really was fourteen. Thanks, dude, Rowan."

"You can stay if you want!" Tony burst out, looking like someone had just put his kitten in the sink and he had to get the yowling feline out.

Rudolph paused at the window and then hid behind the curtain. "Rookery is still lurking... Maybe I should."

"Do vampires really sleep in coffins? Cause that's going to be a problem..." Tony gnawed on his lower lip thoughtfully and I got a brainwave. The trunks at the bottom of our beds!

"Just as long as the sun can't find me..."

* * *

And that's how I ended up in my bed, Tony sleeping at the foot of my bed and a vampire in my shoe trunk. I was missing several pillows and Tony's duvet was also crammed into the trunk for extra padding. I kept hearing the bleep of Tony's Nintendo Color and wanted to cry. Rudolph was playing Pokémon Red and the tune to the towns were distracting, especially when he reached Lavender Town.

* * *

I woke up to the sound of mom pulling open the curtains and her cheery voice exclaiming; "Good morning!"

"Urgh..." I groaned in response, flying out of bed and going into my shower before Tony could.

I heard a hiss and a thump and snorted.

"Honey, you hungry?" Mom called.

"I could eat a cow!" Tony shouted back and I couldn't resist a snort. _Silly boy. _I heard the sound of my door slamming.

I finished my shower in record timing and threw on a cream knitted jumper and some tight, grey skinny jeans. I quickly did my make up and pulled my hair into a messy bun, with a few strands hanging down where I'd cut it too short. "Good morning, Rudolph. Do you need a pillow or a blanket?"

"Good morning, Rowan. This trunk is quite comfortable but I do have slight back ache..." I grabbed several pillows from my bed and flung my bed curtains around the trunk, blocking out the sun. I lifted the lid and grinned down at the boy.

"Get up." I pulled him up with one hand and lined the trunk with pillows.

"Thank you, Rowan." He sounded too formal.

"Call me Row," I grinned at him again and pushed him down. I closed the trunk and found my brown lace-up boots and slid them on, tying them tightly. "Have a nice days sleep, Rudolph!"

* * *

Tony sighed as I walked away and already I could hear the jeers. I really had fucked up, hadn't?

"_This is fer' bein' a lil' creep!"_

Tony was on the floor and I can't go over to help him.

"_This is fer' comin' here in the firs' place!"_

His things were emptied out of his bag and _I can't go over to help him. _I bit my lip and carried on. _Can't go over._

I steeled myself and carried on walking, blinking back angry tears. Couldn't mom see he needed my help?

I wasn't watching where I was going and ended up bumping into a rather obese girl with an attitude problem. "Tha' fuck, yu' American slut?" she screeched and I found myself on the ground, nursing a bloody nose and a sprained ankle. _What the fuck just happened?_

I leapt up and grabbed her by the back of her hair, bringing it down to my knee. She howled in pain and a crowd started gathering. I followed the knee to the face with a right uppercut and booted her in the stomach. "What the hell is your problem, you dirty grease monkey?"

_Well, that was the worst insult ever. _The girl started to cry and I didn't know what to do. "Wha's goin' on here?" A voice boomed and I knew it was the headmaster. _Fuck_.

"Tha' American girl jus' hit Jess fer' no reason!" one kid piped up and I groaned. Mom was going to kill me.

* * *

I was suspended from school for the rest of the week and I'd only been there one day. Surely that was a new kind of record? "Just what were you thinking, getting into a fight?" Mom growled at me, propping me up on a pillow and stuffing tissues in my nose. I sent a silent apology to Rudolph; the smell of blood was in the air and I had no doubt that he was probably hungry.

"I wasn't looking where I was going and this fat bitch decided to fucking hit me!" I snapped back, groaning loudly when she jerked my nose in response.

"Any wonder you don't have any friends! Honestly, you're never going to make friends like that." She checked on one wad of tissue and sighed, tossing it to the floor and replacing it with a fresh one.

"I do have a friend!" I hissed back and I heard the trunk lift slightly. I stared at crimson eyes and grimaced.

"Oh, really? What's this friends name, then?" Sarcasm dripped from every word.

"Rudolph!" I spoke without thinking and the crimson eyes widened slightly.

"Rudolph? What's Rudolph like, hm?"

"He's funny, charming and very, very cute." I had a terrible case of verbal diarrhoea and forced my eyes shut.

"Oh? Well we must have him over sometime, aye. Meet this boy who's captured your heart."

"Shut up, mom! It's not like that, at _all_. Besides, he's Tony's friend too."

"Tony's made a friend?" Her scepticism was cute. "Really?"

"Yes, mom. It's not hard for him to make friends, other kids just think he's weird."

"We'll definitely have to have him over... Invite him for dinner, sometime! Oh, him and Tony can have sleepovers..."

The trunk slammed shut.

* * *

"Mom, where's Tony and dad?" I asked, slurping on some instant noodles. They were surprisingly nice!

"Bob's taken him out for some golf... We gave him the clubs when you went on your little tizzy," mom replied, shifting on the sofa and turning the television up. "They'll be back soon, I think."

"I'm going the toilet; please could you pause the video? I don't want to miss a thing!"

I rushed upstairs, hearing the TV go quiet and ran into my room. "Rudolph, are you still here?" I asked quietly.

"I must leave," he began, the box muffling his words. "I apologise but I must. My parents will be looking for me..."

"I understand but can't you wait until Tony gets home?" Tony would be crushed.

"I'm afraid that I cannot, no." The box opened and Rudolph climbed out. The sun was setting and darkness was beginning to descend.

"Will we ever see you again?" Did I sound too hopeful?

He smiled gently and nodded. "Of course you will! You're my friend, aren't you?"

I grinned back and threw my arms around him. He was taller than me, I realised. "You're a tall fourteen year old, aren't you?"

I pulled back and quickly kissed him on his nose. "Of you go, then!"

"If you ever need me, Row, all you need to do is whistle." He puckered his lips and a beautiful tune left his mouth. I tried to copy and it was the same tune, higher pitched but the same tune.

I grinned again, slightly tears eyed, and left my room. I was going to keep my bedroom window opened for him, just in case.

* * *

"Hi Rowan!" Tony yelled and he rushed past me. I grabbed him by his waist and held him close.

"Rudolph's gone!" I whispered into his ear and he stiffened.

"What?"

"He had to leave, I caught him when he was getting ready to go..." His eyes began to well and I picked him up, clinging him to my hip, taking him upstairs.

I brought dinner up to him and fell asleep with him. Every time he heard a noise, his eyes opened and closed but I couldn't sleep.

The fourth time his eyes opened and closed, something flew into my bedroom and there was a slight thump of something hitting the floor. I grabbed Tony's golf club and held it close to me. Tony's door opened and a small bat flew in. "Rudolph?" I asked quietly, dropping the club. The bat changed and Rudolph went over to Tony's desk.

"Could you wake him up for me?" Rudolph said, lips barely moving.

I pinched Tony's thigh and he shot awake. "Ouch!" He pouted and I nodded in the direction of Rudolph.

Rudolph took a picture from Tony's desk. "Can we go flying again?" Tony grinned cheekily. He looked happy for someone who'd just been moping about.

"No, it's too dangerous. I only came here for this." He gestured to the drawing and sat on the bed, close to my feet.

"My drawing? You can have it." Tony shrugged and leaned on me.

"Where have you seen it?" Rudolph seemed flustered and .. annoyed.

"Why d'you wanna' know?" Tony seemed to sense Rudolph's annoyance, too.

"It's _very _important."

"I'll only tell you if you take me flying again!" Tony declared. _Excellent blackmailing there, Tony._

Rudolph huffed and nodded. "Me too?" I asked, smirking. Tony was definitely my brother.

"Of course."

I brushed my hair quickly and pulled on my fur lined boots. I also got my parka and rushed back to Rudolph.

I put on the parka and took his offered hand. I spent most of the flight clinging to him again but he didn't seem to mind much. Tony was yelling in excitement.

"We live down there!" Rudolph spoke up, over Tony's cries of excitement.

"A cemetery? Cool."

"No, not cool!" I squeaked when Rudolph began to lower us. "Dead bodies, no! No, no, no!"

"Rowan, you're holding a dead boy, shut up!" Tony hissed and I blanched.

Rudolph lowered us down to the cemetery and I sat on a high gravestone. I could _not _cope with dead people.

"I could get used to that." Tony admitted to the vampire.

"So you didn't see the real thing, then?" Rudolph asked, disappointed. They sat close by me but I still felt uncomfortable, like I was desecrating someone's grave.

"No, I dreamt it all; the amulet, the comet... Does it mean something?" Tony was doing his 'butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' act and it was pretty damn convincing.

"I can't say. It's a secret."

"Who am I going to tell? No one will believe me." Tony sighed cutely. Even I almost wanted to confess every secret I had to him.

"...All right. It's the comet Attamon. It's the comet of the Lost Souls. It could be the end of this curse."

"What curse?"

"The curse of being a vampire. It is the piece of the comet that fell to the Earth. A great magician made it into an amulet of power and we lost it, three hundred years ago to the sea."

"Yes, yes, I saw it!"

"My Uncle Von tried to catch it... and we've never seen him since." _What a sad story. _"From that night to this, our wandering has never ended."

Tony put his arm on Rudolph's shoulder and declared; "I'll help you find it!"

"Me too!" I piped up, shivering.

"That must be what my dream really means!" Tony beamed proudly.

"Yes, you are to join our quest! We will truly be brothers now!" I coughed pointedly. "And you will be my sister, of course." Rudolph smiled charmingly.

The sound of bats chirping caught Rudolph's attention and my heart stopped. I leapt down and grabbed Tony's arm. "Is it your family?" I asked the vampire.

"Yes, hide! My parent's are coming!" I dragged Tony away from the boy.

"But we're brothers!"

"They don't know that; go!"

A man and woman appeared. The woman wore a green, silk dress and her hair was pulled back tightly into two large curly buns. She was beautiful. She had a gentle eyes and a sharp nose, a cupid's bow mouth with aristocratic cheekbones. The man wore a dark purple, near black shirt and tight black trousers, tucked into high boots. He had a look reminiscent of Dracula, with strong cheekbones and a Widow's Peak. His hair was slicked back.

"Mama, papa!" Rudolph called to them.

"Rudolph, thank the stars that you're all right!" his mother spoke, her voice smooth and soft.

"My son, you must not stray so far again..." his father began.

"We were afraid - " his mother interrupted.

"I was only taking the road less travelled!" Rudolph smiled at them, his dimples full force.

"And you got lost, my poor boy." his mother cooed. I began to feel guilty for how I'd been treating my mom - it was obvious she cared very much.

"Yoohoo!" a little girl called. She had long, blonde hair and wore a red dress. The bodice was an off-white, obviously well looked after. She was a cute little thing, with dark eyes and a small button nose.

"Anna!" He stepped into the girls awaiting arms.

"Brother, darling! You're the nervy one," She pulled back out of his hug. "Sneaking off like some day walker!"

"I wish!" Rudolph laughed and his fathers furious look was not missed by me. "So father, did you find the stone?"

"No," his father began strongly. "But I'm sure we're on the right path."

"Because - "

"We still have forty-eight hours." The sound of a bats wings confused me. It sounded very close.

"But you see that's - "

"I will not fail you!" The bat changed and landed and it was_ right _behind us. I slowly turned, my hands clenched into tight fists and my body ready to fight.

"Gregory!" his mother called and I turned fully, facing the hissing boy behind us.

"Holy shit!" I squeaked and grabbed Tony by his shirt, flinging him away from us. The vampire hissed again and I was frozen. He got closer and closer but my body was _not _moving. "I'm going to die, I'm going to die, oh fuck _I'm going to die_!" I muttered over and over and the vampire looked faintly amused.

"No, Gregory, she's my friend!" Rudolph yelled. The elder vampire's hands were precariously close to my head and I flinched as Rudolph pushed him away.

"A mortal?" Rudolph's father hissed and Tony let out a small yelp. He backed up into Rudolph and the boy put his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm - I'm Rudolph's friend, and he gave me a bite-proof guarantee!"

"Shut up Tony!" I growled, petrified. If that man so much as touched my brother, I swear to God -

The man put one finger underneath Tony's chin and he lifted Tony up. I saw red and barged past Rudolph. Fuck the fact they could kill me, that was _my _brother! "Let go of him, now." I demanded roughly.

"You will never be anything to my son," the father began, smirking darkly at me, lifting Tony higher. "Victimiser, slave, dinner, perhaps? But you can _never _be his friend!" My foot was slowly rising to hit this man where the sun doesn't shine but cold, steel bands wrapped around my waist and I was dragged away.

"Do you _really _think you could do anything against us?" The vampire breathed down my ear and I shied away. "Mortals like you are weak, pathetic."

"That doesn't matter," I growled back, writhing against him. "That's _my brother _so let me the fuck go!"

"Why I admire you for sticking up for your family, _no_."

"Am I in your dreams, mortal?" Rudolph's little sister spoke and I focussed on her.

"She's _flirting _with my brother. My God. How disgusting... does she know he's nine?" I rambled - the man behind me chuckled gruffly, before sighing.

"Anna, calm yourself." Gregory demanded, dragging me over to her. The little girl smiled warmly, fluttering her fan in front of her cherubic face.

"Let _go _of me!" I pouted, giving up.

"Gregory, let the girl go." His mother smiled at me and I grinned back.

Tony screamed and ran away. "What the hell?" I growled. "What did you do to my brother?"

"Leave!" His father sneered at me.

"No! What did you do to my brother?"

I was treading on very thin ice. Very, very thin ice. Anna giggled behind me and put her hands on my shoulders. "I like you," she confessed happily. "You're not scared of my dad!"

"Oh yes I am," I whispered back, hearing Tony trip over. "I'm terrified of your brother, too."

Gregory snorted loudly and I heard the unmistakable sound of Rookery's truck. "What?" I murmured, looking to the opening of the graveyard. "You need to get out of here!" I said, knowing they'd all hear me. "Rookery is over - "

I heard what sounded like a gun and ducked, shoving Anna from her stone to the floor beside me. A stake flew where she once sat and she let out a small shriek. I pulled her over to a larger tombstone and whispered, "Stay there, okay?"

I looked up over the stone to see Rudolph's dad hiss, "Do your worst!"

Rookery smirked and aimed directly at his heart. His finger was on the trigger and he pulled it -

Anna squealed and the stake hit the floor, two feet in front of Rookery, with a loud thump. "Who did that?" Rookery roared and Tony snorted from behind him.

Cold arms wrapped around my chest and I was dragged into a crypt. "Wait, Tony! Get off me!" I hissed and began to pull. Gregory growled and I was let go. I rushed up the steps and gathered my bearings, before shooting after the neon light.

I leapt on the man's back and dug my fingers into his eyes and cheeks. He bucked wildly and Tony began running again. I dug my fingers in harder and wrapped my legs around his chest, constricting his movement. "How _dare _you touch my brother?" I howled at him, digging one hand harder and then I scratched something. Something gooey oozed on my right hand. I jumped off of him and ran, hearing his screams behind me. "Fuck, fuck!" I whimpered. "Ew, oh God that's disgusting!" I gagged into a bush and then Gregory was in front of me. I blinked in bemusement, before my tummy complained again.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, kneeling down next to me.

"No, I've just dug my fingers into his - " I began to dry heave. A cold hand started rubbing circles into my back and my hair was pulled out of my face.

"It's okay... You saved Anna, you know," he told me solemnly. "Thank you."

"It's fine - god, that's disgusting!" I gagged. I could still feel the wetness slide over my fingers.

He picked me up and gave me a piggy back down to the crypt. I shivered against his back and took time to see what he looked like. He had shaved the sides of his head and the hair was growing back in fine wisps. The top of his hair was teased and it reached his shoulders. It was mainly black but it had streaks of blue, green and red in it.

He wore a long jacket, a black and yellow striped shirt and baggy black trousers that were tucked into leather boots. He was quite cute, really. His face was lost on me, so I rested my head on his shoulder and looked up at him. He had pale, pale skin but it made his eyes stand out more. His eyes were a dark, murky crimson and then they stared down at me.

I flushed, embarrassed at getting caught staring, but I didn't stop. "Thank you for carrying me down here." I spoke to him quietly.

"No problem." he replied. His voice was dark and rough, like it took him effort to speak.

"Rowan!" Tony yelled but he didn't come any closer.

"You dare, _dare _go near that man again Anthony James Thompson, I will kill you myself!"

Tony blushed from the use of his full name. "You can't boss me about, Rowan Marie Thompson!" He stuck his tongue out petulantly.

"It's a matter of him killing you, or me. Which would you prefer? He'll have no mercy for _arrogant little boys_! Whereas I, you kind, loving sister, will make sure it's quick and painless!" Tony paled and nodded, scuffing his feet like a child. I felt Gregory laugh underneath me.

"What you did was foolish!" Rudolph's father snarled at Tony and I.

"And he stopped you from dying." I snarled right back. The man looked furious, glaring at me in disgust. His eyes focussed on Gregory, who wrapped his arms around my thighs tightly in response.

"It was foolish," his wife agreed and I felt a slight sting of betrayal. "But brave."

I noticed Tony was staring at the father's necklace. "Tony..." I warned and his little hand shot out. He grabbed it and the father wrapped his hands around Tony's tiny ones. They both froze and started staring at each other.

Tony let go after two minutes. Gregory refused to let me down, no matter how much I pleaded with him.

"We shared a vision..." their father muttered.

"He has sympathy for our kind..." his mother said, awed.

"Oh, lovely!" Anna declared. I gazed at her probingly; why was she flirting with my brother? He still believed girls had cooties! He was a child!

"Young Von found the stone then he made his way to Scotland, plucked from the sea by a merchant ship, just as rumour had it!" Their father muttered, aghast.

"Then he could still be roaming free!" Their mother beamed. Gregory's hands tightened around my thighs. Was he close to this Uncle Von?

"There was a woman I'd never seen before. She wore a strange coat of arms," he confessed. "We must find out with family she belonged to! Trace her crest!"

"I can help!" Tony piped up, grinning. Stupid, stupid boy. My head dropped forward in resignation.

"No... It's too risky to involve a mortal."

"What have we got to lose?" Rudolph muttered. "We've been searching for _three _centuries!"

"This is what comes from contact with mortals! Disrespect, insolence!"

"Frederick, he does have a point..." His wife soothed the man. _So you're called Frederick, huh?_

"All right... Help if you can, but do not think to change your mind and betray us to our most hateful enemy, or my wrath will be revealed. Am I clear?" Tony nodded happily. _Strange boy, he is_.

"Take them home, Rudolph, Gregory. It's been a stressful day." Frederick's wife smiled at me again and Gregory twirled on the spot, climbing up the stairs.

"My father respects you, I think." Gregory told me. "If anyone else spoke up to him, he would have destroyed them on the spot. I think he respects the fact that you've probably blinded a man for your brother."

"Oh..." I didn't know what to say and my teeth were chattering.

"I think my father likes you two!" Rudolph chirped as they climbed out of the crypt. Gregory shot me a knowing smirk and mouthed, _See?_

"**That** was liking me?" Tony squeaked.

"I know he can seem like a real monster because he's so stern with us..." Rudolph trailed off.

"He is a monster." Tony shot back.

"Tony! How dare you speak like that about anyone?" I groaned. "How would you like it if someone said that about dad, huh?"

Tony looked abashed but didn't reply.

"You don't know what it's like for vampires." Gregory growled at him.

"We're tormented," Rudolph carried on. "Hunted."

"Oh yeah I do!" Tony spat out. "It happens to me every day at school."

"Who dares torment my friend?"

"The McAshton twins!" I told him gleefully. _I _couldn't do anything to them, but _he _could.

"Gregory, would you mind going on a detour?" Rudolph asked his brother carefully.

"This girl is freezing - " the older vampire began and I tightened my legs around him. "Okay."

When Gregory began to rise, I clung to him desperately. I _hate _flying.


	3. The Abyss

By the time we reached Lord McAshton's mansion, my lips were blue and I was absolutely freezing. I pulled the hood up on my parka and prayed we'd go home soon.

Rudolph played with the lock on the window and Tony pulled him in with him. "Would you like my jacket?" Gregory asked softly.

"N-no, I'm fine!" I stammered, feeling silly in my boots and my legs being flashed at everyone.

The vampire scoffed and pulled his jacket off anyway, wordlessly handing it to me. "T-thanks!" I smiled slightly at him and unzipped my parka. I quickly removed my jacket and put his on, then put my parka on again. It was slightly warmer. I slowly buttoned his jacket up, my fingers trembling but my body was slowly getting warmer. "O-oh, what's your m-mom's name?"

"Freda, why?" he replied, smirking. _He must think I'm a stalker..._

"'Cause I'm curious?" I replied smartly. I was tempted to hit myself in the head. Freda and Frederick, huh? How did they get Rudolph, then? Freda, Frederick, Gregory, Anna... Rudolph. Hm. All regular names... and then a reindeer.

The sound of screams filled the air and I sniggered. "I'm not allowed to go after them, you know. My mom said I could lose dad his job, so the other day when they got him to the ground and emptied his bag out, I couldn't do a thing."

Gregory didn't reply.

Tony came out, cackling to himself. Gregory grabbed me and Rudolph shot off, smiling brightly. We followed at a quicker pace and soon passed them. I laughed; I hate heights but this was amazing.

"Is this where you live?" Gregory asked me, shouting over the wind.

"Yeah!" I shouted back. "Go 'round the back and land on the balcony with the rope!"

He did as I asked and I invited him in to my room. "Why do you have rope?" he asked me quietly.

"So I can get out of the house when I'm on lockdown or stressed out." I grinned and went to wash my hands. I turned the tap on to boiling and filled the sink up with the hot water. I dunked my hands in and nearly swore from the pain but carried on, keeping them in then for a minute.

"You'll hurt yourself doing that," Gregory chastened. "Why are you doing that, any way?"

"Cause of Rookery - " I stopped myself from talking but I think he knew what I meant. He left me to it and I heard my bed squeak.

_He better not be getting my bed dirty. _"Your bed is brilliant!" he called from my room.

I snorted and dried my hands on a towel. I took off the parka but kept his jacket on. It smelt of earth and it really was quite warm. "Are you heading back home tonight, or are you staying?"

I removed my shoes and grabbed the bottom of my wardrobe. I began to pull but it seemed heavier than before... and then I heard Tony's giggling. "Tony, get out." I flung open the doors and grabbed him by his foot.

"Balls!" Tony squealed and my eye began to twitch.

"_What did you just say_?" I howled at him.

* * *

Tony was thoroughly terrified and his mouth was full of soap suds. "I still don't know why you did that to me." He stuck his lower lip out and I tugged on it roughly.

"No brother of mine is going to cuss like a dirty sailor." I told him firmly, mindful of Rudolph and Gregory watching us.

"But you say all those swear words!" Tony began.

"And if _you_ ever repeat them, next time I'll use bleach on you, okay?"

I smiled sweetly and hoped my message had sunk in. Swearing and cussing was not a good thing to fall into and I would try my hardest to not let him do it.

"Can one of you two help me with my wardrobe?" I looked pointedly at Rudolph when I said this. If he was going to sit in _my_ clothes, then he was going to help me move them.

The boy sighed and nodded. He began to push one side while I pulled another and soon, the wardrobe was in its correct place.

"Someone's coming up the stairs," Gregory muttered. "Where do we go?" He gestured to himself and Rudolph quickly. I pointed to the wardrobe and the box.

"It's your mum." Rudolph told us and I couldn't help but laugh at him saying _mum_. How British! He got into the box and Gregory flew into my wardrobe, shutting the door behind him.

I panicked, remembering I still had Gregory's jacket on and I ran into my bathroom, locking the door and putting the shower on.

"Rowan?" Mom called and then I heard my bedroom door open. "Oh, Tony!" she exclaimed.

Tony said something to her and then heard her come very close to my door. "Sweetie, I know it's late but me and your dad need to go out, is it okay if you look after Tony for us? He doesn't have to go to school tomorrow, he just needs to be in bed before midnight, okay?"

I yelled a quick, "Okay! Love you mom!" and shut off the shower.

I waited until she had left my room to come out. "Where do you think they're going?" I asked Tony, rolling the sleeves up on Gregory's jacket. It was too warm to take off now.

"Dunno," Tony shrugged his little shoulders. "Don't care."

"Can we come out now?" Rudolph asked sweetly.

"Of course!" I stammered. "Sorry!"

I heard the wardrobe open behind me. "May I stay here tonight?" Gregory whispered in my ear and I shivered. My heart fluttered and my face probably went a deep shade of red.

"Y-yes!"

Just _what _was going on with me?

"Thanks," he purred.

_Well, shit_. "Tony, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, go make me some food, wench." Tony waved his hand in the direction of the door. My eyebrow rose and I went into my bathroom, grabbing a baby pink lipstick tube.

I whispered, knowing that the vampires would hear me but Tony wouldn't; "Can one of you two hold him down?"

I heard the squeak of my bed and then Tony let out a muffled cry. "Rudolph?"

I ran in, armed with my make up and pushed Rudolph off of him, pressing him down by placing my legs on his arms and sitting on his legs. This was testimony to my height, really. I was _short_. I unscrewed my lipstick and began applying it heavily on his forehead, saying 'ROWAN', most of it going into his eyebrows.. "Pucker up," I grinned evilly and he began to writhe beneath me.

"No!" he screeched, laughing. I held his lower lip in my fingers and applied it thickly, leaving behind bright, baby pink lips. I did the same to his upper lip and clambered off of him.

"The wench will go make your dinner now, _miss_ Tony!"

I leapt over his little body and ran down the stairs, my heart still fluttering slightly. Why was that vampire having such an effect on me?

I walked into the kitchen slowly, dragging my feet. I started sing under my breath. "_Baby I'll try to love again but I know... the first cut is the deepest. When it comes to being lucky, she's cursed, when it comes to loving me... he's worst," _and made my rendition, of course.

"Tony, do you want to watch the Labyrinth?" I yelled up the stairs.

"Sure!" he screeched back.

"Bring down my pillows and duvet and tell Rudolph and Gregory to come down, too! I'll make sure the curtains are all drawn and lower the brightness on the TV!"

I didn't wait for a reply and grabbed all the sweets from the cupboard. I also grabbed several bottles of soda and went to sit in the living room. I drew the curtains and fiddled around with the television, but eventually it was lowered enough to barely cast a shadow in the dimly lit room. I found the Labyrinth and forced it into the video player.

I turned around to see Gregory, Rudolph and Anna sat down, smirking. I jumped and my vision went black for the tiniest of moments; however, it was enough to make me sway and hold the television for support. "Do not do that again." Where did Anna come from?

Tony came barging in, covered by my pristine white duvet. I took it out of his arms and plonked it on the vampires. "I'm going to get changed," I muttered and left the room. My face was bright red and I felt so itchy. I took the stairs two at a time.

I reached my room in record timing, only to die inside _again _when I saw Gregory sat on my bed. "Fucking hell!"

"A lady shouldn't use such foul language!" the boy reprimanded. "What is wrong? You looked faint..."

"...Nothing." What _is _wrong with me?

I shook my head at him and grabbed my make up wipes, sitting at my vanity and removing my 'face'. I pulled my hair loose of the messy bun and began to brush it through, feeling the soft strands slip through my fingers. My hair was a dirty blonde, thick and curly. I had bright blue eyes and a smattering of freckles over my nose. My skin was pale and my face shape was slightly heart, slightly round. I was... boring. I was typical. I grabbed a pair of scissors from my vanity table and began to slide them gently, opened, through my hair. Slowly but surely, long strands of curly hair fell to the floor, until my hair was layered and reached the small of my back and not the tip of my bum. I leant forward and brushed my long bangs out and began to slice upwards, creating a messy full fringe. It went straight across my head but it was still curly, so I knew that once it was straightened it would be longer still.

"Why are you doing that?" Gregory asked from behind me, wrapping stone cold hands around my shoulders. I gazed at my reflection and shook my head, throat constricted. "Hey, hey..." Gregory muttered, kneeling beside me. "What's wrong?"

I don't think he was quite ready for me to burst into tears, but I did. "Stop being so nice to me, damn it!" I pushed him away gently and hid my face in my palms.

"Anna, could you come up here?" Gregory called, but it sounded more like he was speaking normally. Two seconds later, I was pressed into Anna's small waist and couldn't stop crying.

* * *

When I woke up, I was cushioned on something very, very cold, with a blanket thrown over me. Tony was on the floor beside me and he was clinging to both Rudolph and Anna. I looked down at my cold cushion, to find red eyes looking back at me. "What?" I whispered, confused. The last thing I remembered was crying and then taking my old medication.

"Good afternoon," Gregory greeted me. "Your parents came in at around one in the morning and were very, very scared by the fact that there were three new people in the house. I had to quickly explain that we were your friends and that you heard a bump in the cellar. We then rushed over and kept you company. Your mother seemed very happy and your father looked amused. Your mother checked on us earlier and asked who I was. I told her my name and she looked confused, so Rudolph sat up and said he was Rudolph. She seemed very pleased and walked away, humming and talking to herself about her babies _finally having friends_!"

"Oh... Okay. What time is it?" I yawned, sitting up and stretching my body out. The way Gregory talked amused me. He was very short and clipped, but still managed to keep an English charm to it. His impression skills were lacking, though.

"It's currently around three o'clock. You and Tony have been asleep for roughly fifteen hours."

"What?" I replied dumbly. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." The boy nodded to affirm his point, before smirking. "Okay, not seriously. It's just turned twelve o'clock, midday."

I groaned and let myself flop down on him again. He stiffened but pulled the duvet over us. "I'm so sorry for breaking down on you." I told him meekly. He was going to think of me as a freak, I just knew it.

He scrunched up his nose and replied; "Why were you upset? It confused me."

"My emotions are highly unbalanced and I used to have to take medication for it. I thought I was fine but... obviously not."

We lay silent for a few minutes and eventually, my eyes closed.

"What's it like, being a vampire?" I muttered into his ear.

"It's like nothing will ever be happy again," he confessed. "The sky will never be blue, the birds won't sing, the flowers are never open... Friends are something scoffed at and family becomes your everything. Many mortals give up their life so callously, killing themselves and destroying others, disrespecting the life they are blessed with... Some kill others, taking away their life; the people are innocent! They believe that they are God and are all-powerful, but they are not." I felt a slight sting at his words. "In the history books, they refer to me as Gregory the Gruesome. They call me this as I have slaughtered many and **relished **in their deaths. I am a monster, plain and simple."

I hm'ed. "I don't think you're a monster, Gregory. I think you're a boy forever stuck in puberty with daddy-issues." He stiffened again. "It's not about how you felt when you killed someone, it's about how often it occurred and who the people dead were. Where they murderers? Rapists? Or innocent people, plucked from the street? Do you revel in the killing of the innocent, of children?"

"No." his tone was cold and hidden.

"Oh, Rowan!" my mom sang, pulling the duvet up. I hadn't realised this before, but Gregory was completely stripped off aside from a pair of bunny trousers. _My _bunny trousers.

I started sniggering, which soon turned to full blown laughter. "What?" Gregory muttered, before looking at what I was laughing at. He groaned loudly, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at me. I landed on Rudolph and Tony and laughed harder, clutching my stomach.

"Oh..." I gasped. "My God!"

"What is it?" Tony shot up, hitting his head on mine in the process.

"Ouch!" I yelped, but I kept giggling. Anna stayed stubbornly asleep. I threw the pillow on Gregory's legs and stood up shakily, my sides hurting.

"Afternoon, Row!" Mom chirped, giving me a look that promised a womanly talk. "How about you move so I can open the curtains?"

"No, mom!" I moaned, heart pounding at the thought. _They'd die!_ "I'm still tired, can't we just stay down here?" I whined, dragging the "e".

"But they haven't ate-" She gestured wildly to Rudolph, with his mussed up hair and I belatedly realised he'd stripped too, wearing some of Tony's pyjamas_. _"And I don't want to send them home hungry!"

"I'll make us something, why don't you go shopping? I know you've been dying for some new clothes!"

Mom paused for a moment and gave me an angry scowl. "You've twisted my leg," she sighed. "Okay." She grabbed her bag and left.

I blinked. "Well, that was simple. Tony, you hungry?" I didn't wait for a reply and made him a salad sandwich, handing it to him on one of Mom's china plates.

"Aren't you having anything?" Tony asked, through a large mouthful of food.

"Not hungry, I'm going to the library!" I chirped, clapping my hands together and rushing upstairs.

I had a quick shower and left my hair down, still wet. I changed into a brown top, cream chunky knit cardigan and high-waisted black jeans. I wore my chunky brown wedge shoes and left through my window, not trusting the heavy front door we had. The vampires would be blasted with light immediately.

My eyes sought out my bike eagerly and soon after, I was off. The trip took longer than expected; it took me an hour to get to the library and it took me another three to find the books that I wanted.

I leaned up, pulling out the _Crests of All Ages _book that the library carried, comparing some of them to what Tony described. Only one matched; the McAshton crest. I gulped and placed the book back.

"Thanks, Miss!" I called and left quickly; the sun was beginning to set and the vampires would be leaving soon.

The trip took less time on the way back; I knew which way to go and it took me forty five minutes.

When I got home, Tony was no where to be seen and the house was cleaned. "Mom? Where's Tony gone?"

"He's gone to Rudolph's house, honey!" mom replied, smiling. "That Gregory seems like such a nice boy, he says you should go too!"

I nodded and left, this time on foot.

* * *

Tony paced, chewing his lip. Rudolph watched the small human carefully, not daring to breathe. Tony had tripped on the way here and his blood was something akin to melted chocolate and vanilla to the vampire. His sister and his parents smelt similar, too; however, Dottie smelt of an old red wine and Bob smelt of dark chocolate, with a hint of burnt wood. Rowan was peculiar. She smelt like Tony, except different. It was more... honey, than chocolate, but still chocolate. How could a family smell so similar but so different?

Rudolph knew that Rowan wasn't innocent, nor was she as wonderful as Tony proclaimed her to be. She had her bad times, when she started smoking and her blue eyes glazed over, and her good times, when her eyes lit up and her heart started _pounding_.

Rudolph also knew that Tony wasn't as perfect as Rowan thought he was. He was slightly spoiled but slightly ignored; his mother adored him, his father was slowly rejecting him for something his son couldn't control. He was teased, bullied but still managed to handle everything like it was good and fine.

The humans were very confusing.

Gregory watched the little boy pace too, his thoughts swirling. He had told the human girl too much and he wanted to distance himself. It would only mean heartache. Tony glared at him angrily and Gregory sneered back. Who was this brat to glare at him with no reason? Rudolph shook his head at the older boy.

The girl stumbled and let out a loud groan of pain. "Who put that rock there, really?"

Rudolph couldn't help but laugh. "Your sister is near," he told the little boy with a smile. "Stop pacing."

Tony grinned and nodded, sniffling slightly. "Is she okay?"

"She just tripped." Gregory smirked cruelly at the little boy, finding it amusing the way he jumped.

"How the hell do you get in here?" the girl yelled and stomped on the ground.

"She can't get in." Anna smiled charmingly.

"Couldn't somebody go, I don't know, _get her_?"

Gregory snorted and stood, moving through the shadows of the crypt. "Rowan!" he called from the slitted opening.

"Yes?" the girl called back, stumbling blindly over tombstones.

"Oh for goodness sake - " the boy hissed. He left the crypt and grabbed the girl by the waist, swinging her over his shoulder and carrying her into the crypt. "We really need to make you a little map of every opening - "

"You say that like you're not going to distance yourself from me!" the girl barked out, the blood rushing to her head.

"What?"

"Don't you 'What?' me!" the girl growled, kicking her legs. "I do have ears you know! You may not think you're that loud, Mister I'm-Over-Three-Hundred-Years-Old, but you most certainly are!"

The boy said nothing.

"Why do you want to distance yourself from me?" the girl's voice was quiet, barely a whisper; Gregory felt a stab of shame hit him before he roughly pushed it away. It was no good feeling like that- "Why would it lead to heart-break?"

Why _would _it lead to heart-break? He paused in his movement's before twisting on his foot, heading up two steps before twisting again, mindful of the girl's head and the narrow walls. He took her down, lower in the crypt, into what he classed as 'his' room. He set her down on his bed gently and sighed.

"Because when we get turned back, we remember _nothing_. The only things we remember are our family and even then the relationships are tense. We are given new backgrounds, a reason for being where we are and we'll be in England while you'll still be here in Scotland. We won't have a reason for moving to Scotland and we won't move to Scotland. We will forget _everything_. I do not want to get attached to you or your family, because it will only hurt **you** in the end."

"But that doesn't mean we can't be friends, does it? When do you have to find the stone for - ?"

"We have to find the stone in twenty-four hours; in a day! How are we expected to get it? Chances are, we won't get the stone - "

"So why can't we be friends? I don't have any friends here but I thought, maybe, you and Rudolph and Anna could be my first ones - "

"If we do not get the stone, we will move."

* * *

It felt like he was shredding my heart into pieces and stamping on the tattered remains. It felt like he was pouring salt into a gaping wound. It hurt. I know it was my own doing; Rudolph had slowly but surely become a younger brother to me, Anna like a little sister that had been estranged for a while... and I stupidly thought Gregory could become my brother, too.

"Why?" My voice was so tiny and weak. I felt so _stupid_.

"That's the way it has to be - "

"No it doesn't!" I yelled and my voice echoed down the halls. I didn't know where we were and I couldn't see a damn thing.

"Yes, it does. The stone forever moves; if we missed our chance, it will move. It was in England and the older vampires missed their chance. It is now in Scotland and who knows? Next time, it may be in Wales, may in Ireland... We have to follow the stone. This is why we were never allowed to form human attachments; or, at least, I wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

I felt a shift beneath me and a cold hand wrapped around my own. "Father treats me like his prodigy son; I am a thing to be gasped at and awed by, but never to be shown affection."

* * *

The girl fell asleep to Gregory murmuring; "Your eyes are getting heavy... You're falling into a deep sleep..."

Tony had left after Frederick snarled at him; the boy didn't want to leave without his sister, but Rudolph had taken him home. Gregory gazed down at the girl thoughtfully, eyeing her throat. _If _they didn't get the stone... maybe he could turn her? She was different and he liked it. Liked her? Maybe. The idea of spending his life with her was appealing.

He shook the thought off and pulled his blanket tighter around her, hearing a human shuffle around in their home. His eyes seemingly brightened in the dark. He was hungry.

The dark being shot off, fangs already poised at the old mans' jugular. He clamped down and _sucked_, sucking the sweet, sweet life out of the man. But then, he began to move... Attached by a wire. Gregory wanted to let go but couldn't, the blood was _brilliant_, it was fresh and it was oozing -

"Gregory, let go! It's a trap, Gregory! Let **go**!" Rudolph yelped, dragging the boy and finally, Gregory let go, the blood still dribbling down his chin. He licked it up, smirking wildly at his brother.

"Bet you wished that was you and Tony, huh?" Gregory sneered and heard the sounds of Rowan awaking. How? She couldn't be awake yet!

The little vampire smacked his brother on the arm. "You bit him?" Frederick roared, slamming his hand into the wall. He daren't look at his son.

"Just a taste," Gregory moaned, digging the knife deeper.

"Was it worth betraying your family?"

"Well, you're the traitor. Forever denying the truth of us." Gregory paused, hearing the girl curse and stand up on shaky legs. He knew she could hear, but he didn't care. She should know it didn't apply to her. "We are the dark Gods! But _you've _turned us into cowards, skulking 'round our holes like worms!"

"What would you have us do?" Gregory knew that his father knew of the girl in his room, because his father grimaced and his voice was lowered. Gregory shot him a victorious smirk.

"Fight back!" Gregory yelled. "Make these mortals blood run cold!" Gregory heard his girls' heart speed up. Wait... _His girl?_

"You could do it, Gregory." His father's tone was placating. "You're young, strong, ruthless... And willing to take a stake through the heart to prove it!"

Freda hurried Anna off, probably sending her to find Rowan. "Gregory's room." Rudolph whispered to her and she shot off.

"Better a stake than this prison." Gregory mumbled but he knew everyone could hear him, especially Rowan. She gazed at him with betrayed, tired eyes and he frowned. She must be freezing. Did she still have his jacket?

Gregory heard the sound of Rowan's brother returning. _Hm_. If he wanted her to join him, then her brother would need to be turned too. And her family...

No words were said for a while. Everyone, excluding Rowan, could hear the sounds of Tony's tiny pants, sucking in cold air.

"Do you think me oblivious?" Frederick sighed, dropping his head.

"What does it matter to you what I think?" Gregory snarled. "Or... If I think?"

"It matters greatly." Frederick looked his son in the eyes, green-tinged red eyes staring into eyes so similar but so different. "I feel your sting." he confessed lowly.

Rage grew in Gregory. "But you are Frederick the Great! You feel _nothing_!"

Tony was closer now, but so was something else. Something Gregory ignored. "Let there be **light**!"

The family screamed as one and Rowan yelped, covering her eyes. She leapt down a set of stairs and grabbed Gregory, pulling him over to Freda. The woman was curled around her youngest children, trying not to scream but she couldn't. Rowan covered the woman as best she could.

Fredrick concealed his screaming, covering his family at the risk of his own life.

Rowan wished someone would help; the family was dying around her -

The light went out with a massive bang. "Goal!" Tony beamed. Frederick dropped to floor, barely being caught in Freda's arms.

"My hero!" Anna cooed, gazing at Tony adoringly.

Rudolph grinned and whistled. "Wow."

Gregory gazed his girl and wrapped his arms around her. "What are you doing?" she whined. "You knocked me unconscious and now decide to hug me?" She wisely chose not to mention the fight she'd witnessed.

"You must be cold," he soothed. "So I'm warming you up, love."

"Ah - I find out about the coat of arms," she told the family loudly. "It's the McAshton family - "

"Its my father's boss," Tony cut in. "I think the stone must be at his house!"

Tony beamed, waiting for some recognition. Gregory's arms tightened around Rowan and she wriggled slightly. "D-did you hear me, sir?" Tony stammered.

"You barely saved my life." Frederick spoke softly, his voice reverberating through the crypt.

"He's very, very weak." Freda chimed in, her voice as soft as bells in the wind.

"I know just what you need!" Tony grinned.

Gregory's brow rose. "And what is that?"

"Cows!"

Freda smiled and nodded, standing up.

Soon, Gregory was wrapped in a straight-jacket and he was being fitted with a muzzle. "Is that - ah, necessary?" Rowan asked nervously.

"I've bit someone." he told her calmly.

"W-what?" She inwardly cursed herself for acting so... urgh.

"When you were asleep - "

"Unconscious!" she interrupted.

"_Asleep_, a mortal entered and I... Flipped."

She froze. "Would you flip on me?" she whispered into his ear. Gregory could feel her fear in her trembling shoulders and in her pulse; her heart was thumping erratically, like a hummingbird trying to escape a cage.

"_Never_." he whispered back, cold air blowing on her face.

"**E-hem**!" Tony tapped his foot impatiently, handing Rowan Gregory's leash. "Your family has already gone ahead." He looked at Rowan and she flushed, her pulse speeding up. Tony snorted and ran.

"L-let's go, then!" she chirped, pulling on the leash.

"Rowan? May I have your permission to court you?" Gregory asked her carefully after five minutes of slow walking.

Gregory could see his mother stiffen and look back at him with a shocked smile. "Court me?" Gregory smiled. Her nose was scrunched up and she was in thought. "Court?"

"I believe in modern times it's called dating!" Anna called to her. Rowan blanched.

"Oh! Rowan and Gregory, sitting in a tree - K-I-S-S-I-N-G -" Tony began. Rowan's eye began to twitch.

She pulled ahead and cuffed the small boy around the ear, _hard_. He hit the floor with a loud omph and a cry of pain.

She shot him a cold smile and stormed back to the vampire. "I thought you wanted to distance yourself from us?" she asked the boy, her voice icy and withdrawn.

"I - You're twisting my words!" he exclaimed, his red eyes showing his confusion. Surely that was what she wanted?

"No, I'm not. You say you're either going to forget me or leave me anyway... Why would you thinking _courting _is a good idea?"

His girl was quiet and **furious**. Gregory smirked behind the muzzle. _Good_. "Because..." He got closer to her, aware that he couldn't move his arms and he couldn't get too close. "You're mine."

"I'm sorry?" Her voice was slowly but surely rising; Rudolph, Tony and Anna were waiting at the top of the bank, Anna with a hand on the boys' ear.

_Mother and father must have gone ahead_, he thought. "You're mine, love."

"I do not belong to _anyone_, Gregory Sackville-Bagg! You would do well to remember that!" She tugged once, twice on his leash and pulled him up the incline.

"Oh but you do, my sweet. _You belong to __**me**_."

* * *

Rowan was furious. How dare he? She was not a possession and she belonged to no one. How dare he assume she belonged to him?

She was still furious after his mother gave her a subtle wink. "I give you my blessing," she chimed.

"As do I, but be warned, _mortal_. If you hurt my son, in _any _way, I will not hesitate to destroy you." Frederick joined in, an amused twinkle to his eye that infuriated Rowan more.

"Surely **he **would be the one hurting **me**? You know, if you actually manage to find this stupid fucking stone! He won't remember me and you'll live in England, remember, _sir_?" she spat, her hackles rising. The vampire didn't expect it and he visibly shrunk back from the angry mortal. "And if you **don't** get the stone, oh! You'll move away, yes? I'll grow old, clinging to my _lost love_," She sneered, knowing that she was probably causing a scene but so long as Tony didn't witness it, she didn't care. "No. I refuse his courtship. Even if you didn't move away, he'd still be a vampire and I'd still be a mortal and _no, I will not get turned!_" she hissed at Gregory, who'd just opened his mouth to suggest exactly that.

Frederick watched with lidded eyes. He was still weak but he knew that this girl felt strongly about his son... but he also knew that she was speaking the truth. He nodded at her and let himself droop against a hay bale. "I must find a place to hide you children!" he gasped, shooting up.

"You can stay at our house, right Rowan?" Tony grabbed the girl's hand and grinned up at her, swinging it.

"We need darkness, dampness and decay..." Frederick trailed off, staggering up and beginning to pace.

"The cellar!" He beamed.

They began the trek and Rowan made sure she was pulling Gregory along, next to the children. She didn't want to speak to him.

Dogs barked as they passed. Gregory was in thought. He wanted this mortal and he would stop at nothing to get her.

Tony pushed the side gate open, using a side door to get into the cellar. "Rowan, dear... why is there a rope hanging from one of the rooms?" Freda asked politely.

"So I can get out of the house," Rowan replied, removing the leash from Gregory's collar. "When I can't cope with things."

The girl slid one of the bolt locks on the door, opening the door and wincing at the creak. She moved down the stairs carefully, knowing they were rickety with age.

"I'm sorry it's..." Tony trailed off, wrinkling his nose.

"Perfect!" Freda whispered, looking around in awe. It was like something from the Victorian era; Dottie had gone through everything that was left from the old owners but she couldn't bring herself to throw anything away.

Rudolph settled into a padded box, probably for storing old pieces of cloth that were too expensive to store by regular means. Anna settled on an old chaise that had the covers torn up, pulling the covers over her and settling down. You couldn't tell her dress from the fabric.

Frederick settled down on an old, padded rocking chair and Freda settled beside him, settling her head in his lip and holding his pale hand in hers. Gregory just smirked. "I want to sleep in your room," he told Rowan. "And I refuse to take no for an answer."

Rowan's very short temper snapped and she pulled out her lighter, lighting it and placing it very close to him. He hissed and backed away, holding his hands up. "Stay the _hell _away from me." she growled and she stormed off, wiping her eyes at the stairs. She was _such _a girl. Her hands trembled and she growled, storming up the stairs and leaving the family.

"What have you done to her?" Tony scowled, glaring at the colourful vampire. "She's acting like she's ready for a panic attack because of something you did. You correct this, or I'll burn you myself."

Rudolph gaped at his tiny friend. "Rowan?" he joked, looking around, placing his hand where his heart would be.

"Shut up, dude. Have a good day's sleep!" the boy chirped and he began to walk away. "Don't worry, I'm on it."

"On... On what, dear?" Freda puzzled herself.

"Finding the amulet, mother. It's how we kids talk these days." Rudolph piped up, sharing a look with Anna and smirking. He refused to look in Gregory's direction and the boy huffed, pouting.

"Oh..."

* * *

Gregory waited until his family had fallen asleep and began to sneak up the stairs, ridding himself of the straight jacket and muzzle as he went. He paused in front of Tony's room before moving on. He knocked on Rowan's door gently and let himself in. "Rowan?" he called into the room, sliding back the drapes on her bed. He knew it was wrong, entering a lady's room uninvited... but it was _his _lady.

"What do you want?" she mumbled, burrowing her face into her pillow.

"I'm sorry. I did not think that you would think so adversely to a courtship proposal." he told her smoothly, sitting beside her on the bed.

She groaned and glared up at him with half-lidded eyes. "I think it was more of the fact you knocked me unconscious," She attempted to make a joke, pushing herself up and settling on her heels. "But."

"But?" he prompted, smiling.

She flushed a bright red, staring at her hands. "It's just. You won't remember me..."

"If we do find the stone, I'll make sure we move to Scotland. I'll remember you." he vowed, lifting her chin up and staring into her eyes. "Do you know how to whistle?"

She nodded and let off a twinkling sound. "Rudolph taught it me." She grinned.

"When we move out of Scotland, which we **will**, all you need to do is whistle. Find me and whistle."

She nodded again and let herself flop. "Can I stay with you tonight?" Gregory asked bluntly.

"In the trunk?"

"No."

Gregory smirked as he heard her heart start pounding again. She nodded hurriedly, not looking the boy in the face. Gregory removed his shoes and got under the duvet with her, spreading out one arm and linking his hand with hers.

"Does anyone know what happened to Rookery?" she asked after a few minutes of silence.

"You scratched his retina and he's desperate for revenge. He doesn't know where to find you and he's annoyed. He refers to you as the monster."

"_Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster._" she quoted, turning to face him.

"_And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you_." he spoke back, pulling the curtain around the bed and pulling the girl towards him.

"H-hey!" She giggled. "You're freezing!"


	4. Caveat Vamptor

Little clawed hands grasped on the girl, weaving threads of flowers through her hair, red, blue, lilac... The little creatures giggled and smiled, several sets of green eyes glowing through the mist. "Who are you?" the girl murmured sleepily, swatting at the tiny things.

The giggles grew louder and the threads of green thickened, wrapping around the girls chest and legs. "_Fae..._" A woman spoke, the mist clearing away. She had sharp emerald eyes with long blonde hair that curled around her. She was draped with white cloth, revealing pale, glowing skin and golden markings. "_We are the Fae, the fairy, the nymph and the pixie._"

"What are you going to do?" the girl whined, dull eyes watching as the flower petals increased in vibrancy. The blue of her eyes seemed to dim as the petals grew, her hair stripped of the golden blonde colour, her already-pale skin dulling into a sickly grey.

The fae woman smiled and knelt, placing one dainty hand on the girls forehead. The girls eyes drooped and the woman pressed tiny, feathered kisses along the girls body, leaving behind a trail of golden swirls for the girls colour to bless her body once more. "_Rookery is not yet cowed and Valour has him firmly clutched in is grasp. He is disdaining Fortune and you shall exploit such a vile thing; do as you should but do not kill._"

Her colour did not return, and the Fae smiled tiredly. Another one lost, hm?

* * *

Rowan opened her eyes and grinned widely, stretching out her back and arms. Gregory was nowhere to be found, but she'd already decided that as today was Saturday, she was going to help find the amulet. The logical choice was that the amulet _must _be at the McAshton mansion, but how was she meant to get there?

She hopped out of bed, brushed her teeth, and, filled with a strange feeling of care, she began to sketch how he looked in the moonlight. He was high in the sky, hair fanned out like a darkness across his face, but his eyes were piercing. She had the basic sketch down in twenty minutes and told herself that she'd paint it one day.

She hummed thoughtfully and got dressed, tying her hair back and combing the fly-away pieces into the bobble. She checked herself over in the mirror and nodded, removing a bag from one of her vanity drawers and removing a small bottle of pills. She opened the bottle and took two out, dry-swallowing the lithium pills. She put on her glasses and put her pills into the bag again, as well as a lighter, small jacket, gloves, scarf, a large bottle of water and a pocket knife.

She stomped down the stairs, wearing bulky brown boots to match her chunky knit brown sweater. "Dad?" she called, checking the living room and the office before checking the kitchen. He was sat at the head of the table with a large mug of coffee and a broadsheet newspaper spread out in front of him.

"Yes, petal?" he asked, flicking through the sheets quietly. Dottie was bustling around in the kitchen, boiling a pan of water and making toast under the grill. "What is it?"

"Can I come to work with you today?" She grinned impishly, pecking his cheek and taking a long swig of his coffee.

"Funny, Tony asked that too!" Bob gave her _the look _and she smiled innocently. The man shook his head. "I don't want to know. Of course you can, Lord McAshton has been eager to meet you."

Tony rushed into the room and sat on one of the chairs, tired. "When are we going, dad?" Tony yawned.

Dottie handed the girl a bowl of cereal and Tony a plate of toast. "In twenty minutes," Bob murmured, distracted. He'd finally found the page he needed. "Don't make me late and don't leave my side."

"Can I not take him with me, dad?" Rowan interrupted hurriedly, quietly noting the red flush that was creeping up Tony's neck. He felt like his father just didn't care.

Bob looked over the newspaper at her and shrugged non-committally. She rose a sculpted eyebrow and he pursed his lips before nodding.

* * *

The three piled into the green jeep and soon set off, Bob turning on the radio to the station that solely played music by musicians like _The Smiths_, _Talking Heads_, _David Bowie _and _Morrissey_. Tony was playing with his hands, his head lowered. He was tired and glum.

Rowan had curled her legs beneath her and was staring at the green, lush scenery. There was a niggling feeling in her mind, but she didn't know what it was about. "Nearly here." Bob hummed, switching off the radio and glancing in his mirror at his children.

He turned the car off and removed the keys, opening Tony's door. Rowan let herself out, swinging her bag over her shoulder as she went. "Lord McAshton!" Bob greeted jovially, shaking the Lord's hand firmly. "I'd like you to meet my son, Tony, and my daughter, Rowan."

The Lord smiled and knelt to Tony's eyesight, disregarding Rowan with a glance. "Finally!" The man laughed, gravel crunching beneath his dress shoes. "Little Tony Thompson. Let's feel that firm American grip, aye?" The man held out his hand and Tony grasped it. Rowan heard the sound of heavy wheels and automatically shifted behind her dad, guilt and fear welling in her stomach.

Tony looked when she did and shifted behind her, tugging his hand away from the Lord. "Tony's very excited to hear about your family history, aren't you Tony?"

"Er - " Tony gasped. "Not right now I'm not!"

Rookery had stepped out of his red truck, his right eye a bloody red where the whites were meant to be. "Well, its a noble history indeed. The McAshton's ruled in this country since time... in memorial..." The man had finally cottoned on to the fact that Tony wasn't listening and looked around, before his grey eyes settled on Rookery's bulky figure. "You'll have to excuse me." McAshton spat out, twirling on the spot and moving gracefully over to the vampire hunter.

Rowan's hand settled on Tony's and she gave him a wide-eyed look. "Stay away from that guy; he's crazy." Bob began to move and Rowan dragged Tony along with her, trying to make sure she couldn't be found. Her hands were trembling from what she hoped was the medication, but she couldn't be too sure.

* * *

"I told you not to come _back_! Unless - " Lord McAshton started.

"_Unless _is exactly what's happened, my lord." Rookery spoke, almost mockingly. The man indicated to the side of his truck and put a cigarette in his mouth, pulling down a latch. He pulled open the hatch and pulled out a grey body of the funeral director.

McAshton exclaimed loudly when Rookery shifted the man's head to the side, revealing two bloody puncture wounds. "Not the kind of holes that are good for the golfing business, aye, my lord? A biting, right here in McAshton land?" The man chortled. "And there'll be more, unless we - "

McAshton exclaimed again as the body began to rise and Rookery pushed the man back down with a firm thump. " - Come to some sort of arrangement." Rookery finished smoothly. He pushed the body back into his truck and padlocked the latch now that he knew the body was fully gone to the vampire curse.

McAshton shook his head in denial, his eyes glazed. "It's Elizabeth! And her _demon _lover, isn't it? They've returned?" Rookery got closer to the man, drawing McAshton's attention to the many garlic cloves around the truck. He hoped that he had some in the pantry.

"I told you, you had worries." Rookery murmured mockingly, dark eyes alight in glee. Vampires didn't faze him, but he was going to kill the one who'd done this to his eye; he presumed it was the little vampire girl, the blonde one in the ruby dress.

"Come in!" McAshton stammered, leading the dirty man into his home.

* * *

Tony watched as they spoke, ignoring his dad. "And, up here... uh, eighteen. Uh, yeah!"

Tony grabbed Rowan's hand harder and gestured to the men on the move. "Dad, can we go explore?" Rowan asked brightly.

"Of course - " Bob waved his hand in the direction of the mansion and carried on talking. Rowan's eyes narrowed in slight hurt before she began pulling Tony into the mansion, smiling charmingly at the workers.

Tony was attempting to 'subtly' sneak and she shrugged her shoulders at the workers, who were watching them in bemusement.

Rowan caught a brief glimpse of the two men rushing up white marble stairs and she tugged Tony along firmly, toddling up the stairs. Tony was silently moving beside her, one hand tucked firmly into hers.

"Be _quiet_." she whispered, striding behind the two men. Tony 'hmph'ed in acknowledgement.

They walked through several corridors before the McAshton lord turned through a mahogany door. Tony winced when he heard it creak, rushing forward to stop it from fully closing. They hovered at the door way.

"That's my ancestor, Elizabeth McAshton." The man raised one trembling finger to point at the beautiful portrait. The woman had red hair, tumbling loosely around her shoulders, deep-set eyes, full lips and an ample bosom. She had long, aristocratic cheekbones and hollow cheeks with a sharp brow. Around her neck hung an almost glimmering stone, so detailed in its simplicity. It was a basic design, but the gold was looped in circles that lead into a bright ruby. It hung on a small chain around her neck.

"The stone of Attamon-!" Rookery murmured breathlessly, clutching a pendulum around his neck. It was frighteningly similar to Frederick's, but Tony knew the clan head had one in a golden colour, not black.

"My grandfather told me the legend. He said it was to die with me!"

"Could still happen." Rookery smirked.

"She saw a ship, found it upon the rocks... But there had been no storm. No sign of life, no clue, save one who crawled ashore, injured... But he was _no _mortal man. His name was-"

"Von. Von Sackville-Bagg." Rookery spat. "A vampire."

"Yes! Elizabeth was taken by this... _Von_ and became one of the undead herself."

"And then what?" Rowan pleaded silently, listening with wide eyes.

"Our family staked her! And Von." McAshton murmured.

"Warm hearted bunch, aren't you?" Rookery grinned.

"You of all people should understand-!"

"I'm joking, my lord. I'd have done the same myself; so where is she buried?" Rookery turned to face the old man.

"Why?" the man asked suspiciously.

"So I can see if she's really dead. What if she's walking around? If I was a McAshton, I wouldn't want her looking for _me_. How do you like your stake, my lord?" Even Tony cringed at the horrible pun.

McAshton gulped and nodded nervously, so Tony grabbed Rowan's hand and fled. They hid in a closet, watching through the stuffy clothing as the men strode past. Rookery was looking relaxed, calm, whereas Lord McAshton seemed ready to blow a gasket.

Rowan leapt out behind them and shut the door, bounding down the marble stairs after them.

They went out the back entrance to an extravagant garden, McAshton looking behind him every so often from his nerves. Rowan cursed when there was no place to hide, so they had to wait before they followed.

The men left through a gap in the bushes, so the pair began to sprint across the long stretch of grass. Rowan heard the McAshton boys before Tony did but she couldn't slow down, so they both stumbled on the twins. Tony let out a loud yell.

The twins turned and gasped, before they both began to scream simultaneously. Rowan hid her sniggers.

"Shut up!" Tony yelled over their screams and the pair paled, their mouths still open in an 'o'. "You're blocking the lord of the Underworld and his loyal sister!"

"We - We din't mean tu'!" one of them yelled.

Rowan flashed her long canines and hissed threateningly, barely resisting the urge to make a pawing motion with her hand like a cat stretching.

"I want you to _crawl _back to your room, get under the bed..." Tony gestured to the house before raising his voice. "And _stay _there!"

"Y-Yes Lord Underworld, sir!" One of them began pushing the other away, before they began to run away.

"I said crawl!" Tony yelled after them and Rowan began to giggle when they dropped to their knees and move away. Tony spun on his heel, satisfied, and walked through the archway. The pair stumbled down a large bank, seeing a small crypt around sixty foot ahead. Rookery and McAshton were already at the door, McAshton fiddling and fumbling with the door handle.

Rowan rolled her eyes when Rookery kicked the door open with a cocky smirk. _He _was the cause of some of her nightmarish daydreams? Rowan pulled Tony over the the crypt, peering through the door as the other pair descended. She nodded and made a zipping motion with her lips, before stepping carefully onto wrought iron grits.

She nestled herself into the bars and Tony pressed his weight onto another bar. She watched as Rookery opened one of the tombs with a wireless power tool.

Rookery wordlessly handed McAshton a stake and a hammer, before pushing the lid of the tomb off, revealing an empty tomb full of garlic and discarded jewellery.

"She was moved." Rookery's voice was near shaking with his fury. Tony leaned in more into the bar.

"But - No one's been down here since mother died!" McAshton's voice drifted off thoughtfully.

Rookery leaned into the tomb and removed a piece of garlic, crushing it beneath his meaty fingers. It exploded in a plume of fine dust. "I'm talking about centuries ago, my lord." Rookery licked his lips in disgust. "And judging from what I see, this tomb is just here for show. She's in an unmarked grave, wrapped in chains with a wooden stake through her ribs." Tony leaned further and further into the bar, unable to correctly hear what they were saying. "Coffin purified." Rookery finished angrily.

"Why?" Lord McAshton's voice quivered, very much like his handlebar moustache.

"Well do you really want your mum buried next to a vampire?!"

"No! No, no, I loved mother - she always smelt of gardenias."

Rowan's upper lip curled in disgust and obviously Rookery felt the same. "Oh, shut up."

Tony gasped as his bar came loose and he clutched onto the bar. It hung horizontal to the grits. "They've reburied her in unhallowed grounds, probably outside of the church walls."

"That's acres worth of land!"

"Which is why I am fitted with state of the arc vampire equipment - "

Tony's hands slipped and Rowan finally took note. One of her hands shot out to grab him and she tumbled down with him, only she landed roughly on the side of the tomb, jarring her ribs.

Both of the men let out a sharp yell and Rookery shot forward, wrapping his hands around both children's throats. "Little _vampires_!"

Tony's stubby leg shot out and clipped the man's, so Tony dropped to the floor. Rookery flung Rowan into the wall and smirked darkly down at Tony. "You've made your bed... so _sleep _in it!" The man roughly pulled the tomb lid over Tony, leaving a small gap of air.

Rookery grabbed Rowan around her throat again, ignoring as her lips began to turn blue. "It's murder!" McAshton gasped, gesturing between the noisy tomb and the girl in Rookery's arms.

Rookery looked at the girl in puzzlement - she seemed so familiar, but not. He shrugged and opened another tomb quickly, slamming her down roughly into it. He slid the tomb lid over fully and glanced at the Lord. "They're Thompson's children - "

"They're vampires, my lord. I've seem them skulking around with the blood suckers... These aren't children, they're _fiends. _There are other ways for you to get your throat punctured, my lord, don't make me be the one to do it!"

McAshton nodded weakly and his eyes flickered uncertainly between the two closed tombs. "Good; now you understand... Go away and forget about them."

The pair left and Tony weakly called for his sister. "Rowan?"

A tiny whine was his reply, muffled by the tombs. Tony whimpered and scrambled for the mouse that Anna had given him, before hearing a twinkling whistle from the other tomb. He heard it once twice, thrice before it faded away into a tiny cough and then _nothing_.

Tony sucked in as much air as he could and wet his lips, before puckering his lips and letting out a weak whistle. He tried again and again, until he had the high-pitched whistle that Anna had shown him.

* * *

Anna shot out of her chaise in fright, before calming slightly. Tony had whistled for her.

Rudolph and Gregory were out of their respective beds, Gregory wrapped firmly in his straight jacket. "Get me out." Gregory snarled, eyes frantic and dark with worry. Anna wordlessly cut him out and snapped his muzzle in two.

"Rowan called us - me -" Rudolph stammered nervously. "It was weak, its faint, they're both in trouble - !"

Anna wordlessly hushed him and began to pace the cellar for items they could use to protect them from the sun.

Her pretty eyes landed upon two helmets and a long sheet of foil. She eyed her chaise cover and looked between herself and Rudolph. She began to route through another box, before pulling out a black umbrella. "Gregory, hide your hands and use this umbrella to move about." Gregory accepted the umbrella quickly, sliding it up and hoping it would hold. He also took his fathers pendulum as an after thought, to call their clan.

Anna tossed Rudolph a helmet, slid her's on and guided Rudolph's hands to her waist. "Gregory, cover us in the tinfoil and then wrap us in my cover."

Gregory followed her demands quickly, before pushing them out into the sunshine. They stuck to the shadows wherever they could because Gregory was in sheer agony from the sun; the umbrella protected him well but not well enough.

"McAshton mansion..." Gregory whimpered, his eyes darkening. They were nearly there and he could smell his human; he tracked her scent quickly, ignoring Rudolph and Anna who followed behind him slowly.

He tracked them to the crypt and dropped the umbrella, bolting in. No sunlight could reach him in there and he sagged in relief.

"Hello?" Tony whispered sleepily, the lack of oxygen slowly but surely messing with him.

Gregory shoved the lid off of the tomb and sat the little boy on the rim to the tomb, before shattering several of the tomb lids around him in search for his girl.

"That one - " Tony yawned, pointing to the tomb at the end of the room. Gregory nodded his thanks and destroyed the tomb as a whole, showering the girl in shards.

Rudolph and Anna finally caught up, the clang of the helmets hitting the iron grit signalling their arrival. They shredded the tin foil and flung themselves over the stairs, landing with a silent thump.

"She's not breathing..." Gregory muttered, one hand pressed firmly on her throat and the other one on her chest.

* * *

The Fae woman frowned down at the little girl, once so full of life, but now the black tendrils of death were clinging to her. She wasn't fully gone, no, but her body was failing. The vampire hunter had asphyxiated her into unconsciousness, before leaving her no air to breathe. It was only the Fae's calming hand on the girl's head that stopped the girl from succumbing into death.

This girl had been blessed by the Fae, but her brother was their legacy. The Fae had cursed the vampires into a cursed life. They had made several attempts on rectifying the situation, once they'd realised they'd ruined lives. The last attempt was roughly four hundred years ago, when the vampires had told them no in bloodshed.

The Fae woman was a Lady among the Fae, though nothing as extravagant as Queen. She was a simple "PR" rep, as it were. She was to take care of the vampire and wolf fallout. This Fae, however, could have been Queen. And, as such, she had powers of blessing and so she did. It was 'divine' intervention that made the Thompson's move to Scotland; the Fae woman knew little Anthony Thompson could do what the Fae couldn't do themselves.

The woman hummed thoughtfully as the black vines faded into a grey. Vampire, hm? Not if she could help it.

* * *

Gregory had sunk his fangs into the girl's neck before Tony could blink. Anna's murky eyes watched him pleadingly and he shrugged weakly, stepping off of the tomb and pointing to a marble statue. "Gate?" His throat was thick with dust and he really couldn't see properly.

"Gate?" Anna repeated, floating over to the statue. She peeked around the side and giggled happily. "Genius!"

Gregory frowned as he looked down at Rowan. The first part of turning someone was draining her completely of her blood and replacing it with his own. His dead cells would change her remaining few and she'd become a vampire after the partly dead cells multiplied and split, before the cells died immediately. If she hadn't been drained, the body would fight the virus and she would die any way; surely this was a kindness?

He hummed as her skin paled to an ash-grey. The turn would take three days, minimum. The noticeable changes would happen first, like the skin becoming 'dead' and the eyes would darken, fangs elongate... It was the body changes that took their time.

He picked her up around the waist and looked around the crypt. Where had Rudolph and Anna gone? Tony? His keen eyes picked up on the shifted statue and he narrowed his eyes in curiosity before switching his attention back to the girl in his arms.

Her skin hadn't paled much more, but there were golden markings on her cheeks. He shrugged, assuming it was a trick of the light and picked her up, one hand under her knees and the other at her back. He eyed the door, finding no shadows that indicated the sun, and wondered how long he'd been sat there. He felt weak.

* * *

"The girl is rejecting the change," the Fae woman told the Queen. "I need your help. Her vines won't change colour at all. They should be a light red but they're still grey."

The Queen, standing at a demure 4"3, had dark, curly hair and black, blank eyes. The Queen smiled blandly and stood, waving a perfectly manicured hand at her husband. "I will be back."

The King, standing at a tall 6"7, glanced at her briefly before turning his attention back to his book. It was entitled _The Labyrinth_.

"What is the issue?" The Queen strode confidently, seemingly taller than her tiny frame. "I do not believe she is rejecting the change; I believe the Comet is interfering."

The Fae woman took her to the ritual room where the unconscious mind and soul of Rowan lay, tethered to the floor by dark grey plant vines. The Fae woman held up one of Rowan's hand and let it fall. The human girl's hand flickered briefly in the dull glimmer of candle flame.

The Queen frowned. "Why are they so dark? She's teetering on the edge of death... Her soul is fading."

"Do you truly believe the Comet is doing this?"

The Queen shook her head and removed a small pot of salt from her dress. "She is fading from the mortal plane and where she is awakening, I do not know. it is neither the vampire or the Fae realm. I am unsure whether this will be a good thing."

"What are you going to do? This will devastate the Bringer of Change." The Fae woman fretted, folding her hands into her white dress.

"Why, we are going to bring her to the Fae realm, of course!" The Queen's previously dead eyes seemed to blaze with her new-found fervour.

* * *

The vampire picked the girl up and hoisted her over his shoulder, loosening the chain on the pendulum. He clutched at it with pale fingers before he slowly, slowly began to rise from the floor. He grinned with uncharacteristic delight and shot off to the cliffs. Hopefully, the amulet wouldn't be found and he'd have his girl forever. Not long at all, really.

He lay her down on the floor gently, prising open her mouth. He frowned at the swelled gums but shrugged, placing his index and middle finger over the sharpening fangs. Didn't you have to reach day two before your fangs came through?

He wrapped the chain around his hand and began to swing it, the whirring sound whistling through the trees. The wind blew softly, ruffling wild hair.

* * *

Rudolph and Anna paused, Tony falling into Rudolph' back unceremoniously. "Wha'?" Tony murmured, rubbing his eyes with a great yawn. They'd been travelling down the tunnel for forty minutes now and even the piercing cold didn't lift his sleepiness.

"The call?" Anna gasped happily, twirling a long strand of hair between her fingers.

"The call." Rudolph confirmed, grinning at her happily.

"What's the call?" Tony pouted, stomping his foot. "Where's my sister?"

"The call is used to alert the clan," Anna explained slowly, before plowing on. "Gregory has taken her with him, to the cliffs. We musn't disappoint the clan! We must find the stone!"

"We must!" Rudolph agreed, pushing Anna to move on. They all but ran into a large alcove, before the young vampire's halted.

"What now?" Tony groaned. "I'm so tired!" he huffed.

"We can't go any further..."

* * *

Freda's eyes shot awake and she bolted up, alerting Frederick in the process. "There's something wrong!" she fretted, removing herself from the chair and eyeing the empty chaise. She flipped open Rudolph's box and her stomach clenched. She flipped open Gregory's box and swirled around to face her husband.

"Gone... All of them!" Frederick murmured, his narrowed eyes checking for any signs of scuffle. Aside from Gregory's torn straight jacket and muzzle, there was nothing.

"They could have gone to the cliffs?" Freda soothed, although her own worries were making her head pound. "Tonight's the night; mortality beckons..."

Frederick checked his neck absent-mindedly. When he didn't find what he was looking for, his narrowed eyes shot open comically. "Gregory. He's stolen the amulet! He will crush our hopes... It's the final mockery."

"No." Freda shook her head softly, placing her hands on top of his. "He's a rebel, but such treachery is beyond him. If he _has_ taken the amulet, it's to make the call."

"Then we shall go to the cliffs too." The pair shared a tiny, loving smile, before Frederick sagged. "I'm still very weak. I would fall from the sky if I flew..."

Freda pressed a tiny kiss to his nose and pointed to the ceiling. "We'll find a way."

_"Ever since they met that Rudolph, and did you see the older boy, Gregory?"_

_"I thought you didn't mind them?" _Dottie's muffled voice made it's way through the floor.

_"Rowan has been wreck ever since that Gregory; God, can you remember how she used to be? I used to come home worrying that she was dead! And Tony, damn... I'm happy he's found a friend but he's the Second Coming of Rowan, I swear. Did you see how he glared at me when we went to the McAshton party?"_

Freda rose an immaculate eyebrow and her nose shifted delicately. Frederick looked at her in slight alarm; why would Bob come home thinking his daughter was dead?

_"You mocked his drawings, Bob! Don't even get me started on Rowan; she's fine, okay? She is nothing how she used to be. Sure, she's on her pills again - "_

_"What? When?"_

_"I checked the supply this morning; there's a bottle missing - back to Tony! I swear, you only have eyes for her - "_

_"Don't you? She's a manic-depressive and on top of that, she's our little girl!"_

_"And Tony is __**our **__little boy who's growing up with a __**bipolar **__sister! He has no idea what she was like and he is nothing how she was! What the bloody Hell are you doing, Bob? You're pushing him away, just like you did Rowan when Tony was born - "_

Even Frederick couldn't listen any more; the two children his own children had befriended were nothing how their parents were describing them and, although he would be affronted if anyone told him the way he felt about his children was wrong, he couldn't have them slandered.

He stood up weakly and pushed open the jarred window. Wind laughed around them, nipping at their hair and clothing and they shot up, before halting at the large wooden door. Frederick gave his wife a tiny, warm smile and knocked firmly on the door.

Bob grimaced at the interruption but silently thanked God. Dottie was ready to flip her lid.

Freda smiled warmly as the door opened and she leant against the frame, her smouldering eyes alluring. "I'm Freda Sackville-Bagg..." she trailed off, her voice mystical and airy. She was like nothing Bob had ever seen before, with a beautiful heart-face and full lips.

"That's..." Words seemed to fail him. "Wonderful." he settled on, keen eyes taking in the high cheekbones and the perfectly formed eyes.

"Rudolph's mother," she added, amused. Humans were funny things. "I'm _sure_ you're worried about your children."

"C-children?" he stammered.

"Tony... and Rowan?" She smirked charmingly at the man, flashing the tip of her fangs.

"We know _who _they are, we want to know **where**-" Dottie began, before Frederick came into full view.

"Tony and Rowan are going to the cliffs with our children, to watch the comet." Dottie began to blush.

"Children...?"

"Yes. Dare I say this - your young man has cast quite the spell on Anna."

"And the same for Gregory to Rowan," Dottie added, snapping out of the allure and back into her frenzy. "What is your name?"

"Frederick Sackville-Bagg," She held out a delicate hand to him and he took it, pressing a chaste kiss to the back of her hand. "At your service."

"Hi." Dottie murmured lamely, nudging her husband with her elbow. "How about it, Bob? Would you like to see the comet?"

"Sure. Are we supposed to be-" His brows furrowed in confusion. "In costume, like you guys?"

"Costume?" Frederick and Freda asked in unison.

"Yeah - Shakespearean aristocratic... Things?"

"We don't dress as aristocrats - we _are _aristocrats." Frederick scowled.

Bob smiled dreamily. "Sure... Whatever." Was it just him, or were Freda's eyes the brightest shade of blue he'd ever seen?

"We should hurry." Freda smiled. "It's urgent."

"Urgent?" Dottie asked, dread welling up in her stomach. Were they hurt?

"Well the comet is near," Freda's misty eyes fell on Dottie - Dottie ignored the urge to flee.

"Oh..." she trailed off, before getting the car keys. "Let's go, then."

"I must say, Dottie - Gregory is quite enamoured with your girl." Freda began, taking the woman's slender hand in her own.

Frederick slicked his fingers and the door slammed shut, the lights switching off. Dottie watched in bemusement, but Bob was too out of it to notice anything peculiar.

The sound of a horn caught Dottie's attention, even as Frederick and Freda shifted away from the headlights. Bob placed his hands firmly on his hips and, ignorant of the frilly apron he wore, greeted Lord McAshton wearily.

"Hold on, Thompson!" the old man stammered, pressing a wooden stake and axe into Bob's hands. "I have these for you - oh, you may not like it, but we didn't like it three hundred years ago! You take the blunt end of the axe and - one, two, three-" He indicated a sharp sound with his mouth and spread his hands apart. "It's over."

The old man sniffed and looked at Bob in approval. "What are you talking about?"

"You have to drive the stake through Tony's heart!"

"Oh my God...!" Dottie whispered, one hand flying to her mouth.

"No worries," the old man smiled again. "He's already dead! He's a vampire."

Freda and Frederick shifted and Frederick's attention was caught completely.

"It's not easy for a father to hear, but your son is a blood sucking fiend."

"All right, I'll handle this," Bob soothed his wife and dropped the stake and axe.

"Take them, please. You'll thank me in the morning."

"It's all right - I'll handle this." Bob soothed his wife and dropped the stake and axe. "I have had enough of _you people _and your vampire **bullshit**! Don't _ever _call Tony a vampire ever again! And how dare you embarrass me and my wife in front of our guests?! These - " He gestured to them violently. "Are aristocrats!"

Lord McAshton seemed shocked by Bob's outburst but rose his monocle to his eye and eyed the vampires in amusement. "Aristocrats?"

"Yes, my Lord." Frederick called, stepping closer to the enraged Bob. "And Tony happens to be my sons best friend. Robert is right - Tony is no vampire."

Freda and Frederick flashed their fangs as one and Lord McAshton paled considerably. "Take your leave!" Frederick commanded.

"Yeah - take your leave, or you'll be building your own golf course, buddy."

"Alright." Lord McAshton nodded and scurried away. "I'm leaving..." He hurried to his car and pulled away quickly, while his 'guest' sat up from his slumber. The old graveyard caretaker smiled viciously and sunk his fangs into the Lord's neck, ripping out the throat and sucking at the thick blood. The man was dead before he could blink and the car reared off into a fence, the headlights blinking uselessly.

"Did you hear that, honey? I told him to take his leave."

Dottie laughed slightly and pressed a kiss to Bob's nose. "I heard, sweetie. You were so brave. Wonderful."

"Bob - " Freda got his attention and opened the car door. "The comet."

"Of course." Bob smiled graciously and opened the door for his wife, before closing the door and getting into the driver's side.

* * *

"Why not?" Tony frowned, looking around in curiosity.

Rudolph and Anna shared a grim look, before Rudolph began to speak. "There's something ahead."

"Some kind of curse," Anna added.

Tony shone the torch into the darkness in worry but he stiffened his upper lip. "You'll have to go alone." Anna told him solemnly and the boy nodded, stepping into the crypt.

He walked past something that looked remarkably like a human skeleton and passed a chain, before he came up to a wire mesh fence. He growled impatiently and searched for an entrance; there wasn't one. "I can't get in!" he yelled, turning around futilely. "There's a fence!"

"Can you climb underneath it?" Rudolph's voice boomed back to him and Tony grimaced, eyeing the sharp metal. He removed his outer shirt and wrapped it around his fingers, placing the torch on a large rock. He placed his hands to the fence and pulled slightly, his shirt holding strong and lifting the fence enough so that he could fit through.

He put his shirt back on and pressed the torch through, before wriggling through the small gap in the floor. "I'm through!"

He looked around before his eyes fell on a large tomb. "I found it!" he yelled in glee, stepping closer.

Rudolph and Anna shared another look. "Go see what it is!"

Tony stepped closer until her could see the chains surrounding the tomb. "There's something written on here... _Caveat vamptor_?"

"Let the vampire beware... It's a curse." Rudolph shook his head and watched the shining outline of Tony.

The boy wrapped a hand around the chains and began to pull. "Come on. Break... Break, you stupid chains, break!" Tony yelled angrily, before stomping his foot on the ground. "God _damn it_! We need a miracle!"

Tony hissed angrily to himself as he circled the grave and, as dust began to fall on his head, he finally became aware of the earth above him shaking.

He stepped away and pressed himself into the wall. "Wah - ?"

The tip of a drill began to show and he smiled. _This _was the miracle he needed!

"Oh, no..." Rudolph whispered in horror. "_Rookery..._"

The earth dropped and the drill plowed down, shattering the chains and destroying the writing engraved on the coffin.

The drill retreated and Rookery placed a small microphone into the gap; this information would be _very _useful, if the chains wrapped in the drill were anything to go by.

"The curse is broken," Anna whispered to Rudolph and the pair rushed forward, Rudolph shredding the fence with his bare hands.

"We need to move the top," Rudolph murmured quietly. "One, two, three - pull!"

* * *

Gregory smiled lovingly at his girl and privately hoped that the stone wouldn't be found. He opened her mouth again and found two large fangs protruding from her gums. Her skin was paling rapidly as the virus cells destroyed the human ones and it was already ice-cold. Gregory didn't know whether it was the cold of the air or the transformation, but he was concerned. It was _all _happening too soon.

The sound of chirping bats caught his attention and he wrapped his jacket around his girls shoulders, greeting the members of his family warmly. "Hello, auntie Clarissa - oh, and cousin George..."

* * *

Rowan gave the two woman a tiny frown. "So now, I'm dead?" Her voice was cold and hidden, her eyes betraying nothing.

The concept of death was something that Rowan... _lived _in. Struggled with. She would never admit it, not even to herself, but... She'd had many suicide attempts since she was thirteen - she'd lost count after twelve. The medics were wary of giving a girl so many drugs, but there was a time in Rowan's life where she was so doped up on drugs she couldn't tell reality from her nightmares. Once she'd been "under control" for three months on sector twenty-two (the dangerous ward), she was moved to sector fifteen and her nightmares were becoming a reality. The other women on the ward were coarse, angry and everything Rowan was afraid of. She was quickly moved to sector four on her fourteenth birthday and at fourteen years old, three months, two days, she was free.

There were no more suicide attempts; instead, her parents had to suffer through her running away and finding her in hospitals, her coming home off her head on weed and addicted to alcohol... before there was _just no damn point._ She gave up. There was one more suicide attempt on her birthday; she had twenty-four litres of cider, four bottles of vodka and four packets of sleeping pills. She drank a few litres of cider before she passed out; this continued until only the pills were left and then... something intervened. She didn't know what happened, but they were moving to Scotland and she'd made herself sick all night, even as her mother sat outside of her bedroom door and sobbed into the grainy wood, fearing she'd lose her daughter before the night end.

"You're in the balance," the darker haired woman spat; to save this girl, she was going to cut years off of her own life... For what? "And now I have to _fucking _save you - "

"Don't bother." Rowan hissed back, her eyes flashing darkly.

The other Fae woman intervened smoothly. "You're transforming into a vampire at a speed of an hour for every day. In another..." The woman tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Twenty? Minutes, you'll be fully turned while the comet approaches the moon. You will be different to the other vampire, but I don't know why. Stronger, quicker... You're a mutation of a mutation."

"So I'm a freak?" Rowan sniggered hopelessly. She was a freak among freaks, brilliant.

"Yes." The darker haired woman gave her a twisted little smirk. "But we're going to fix that once the comet hits - instead, you're going to be even _more _of a freak amongst regular humans. You're going to be darker, crueller, faster, stronger... and you're going to do our bidding and be damned _pleased _about it. You won't be able to return to your brother, mother, father... even perhaps your little **lover**."

"I'd rather die a thousand concrete covered deaths!" Rowan roared, writhing against the vines that held her back. "Just fucking kill me already!"

"My Lady..." the lighter Fae murmured, aghast. "Why? She's just a girl..."

The other woman ignored her. If this little girl didn't realise how tightly she held those dear and was so willing to die, then Rosemary de Roeburge would ruin her and make her realise just how much she would regret this.

* * *

Tony gazed at the sad sight before him. There lay a man and woman, both turned to stone. The woman was Elizabeth McAshton, a stake protruding from her ribs and a chain around her neck.

"Uncle Von..." Anna whispered, one hand trailing the stone man.

"Father's right, he did come here!" Rudolph whispered brightly.

"Oh, how romantic!" Anna cooed. "Their love, preserved forever!"

Tony reached down and gently tugged at the chain necklace. "The stone isn't here..."

He grabbed it tighter and began to shake. Tiny murmurs were leaving his mouth as he was pulled back into the memory.

* * *

Von took Elizabeth's hand in his own as they ran, speeding over pebbles and the dew clinging to their clothing. Elizabeth panted harshly, even as Von held her dress up delicately and her shoes fell off.

Roars and screams followed behind them as they were chased by the vampire hunters, flaming torches grasped in grimy hands and mocking grins etched into their muddy faces.

Von led his lady to their manor, before pressing one final, lingering kiss to her lips. "I'll love you forever..." he whispered before turning, bringing his cloak up in his hands and hissing at the approaching men.

Elizabeth hissed as the feeling of misery rose in her but she ran, spurred on by his sacrifice. They would never get the stone.

She rushed up stairs, shooting through the manor and slamming doors closer behind her. She sobbed out loud before rushing into her old childhood room and lifting up one of the floorboards.

She removed a tiny pouch from her dress and wrapped the stone in her lace handkerchief. She pressed the stone into the pouch and hid the stone beneath the floorboards, before pressing down the floorboards and scurrying away from the door.

She turned to face the man who would be her executioner and smiled warmly, even as she wished she could cry. "Hello, father."

The man held the stakes up into a cross and she let out a loud wail, slamming herself away from the man who once danced with her in this very room.

* * *

"The stone is in my room!" Tony shouted, releasing his grip on the chain. "No _wonder _I've had those dreams!"

Rudolph smiled and took Tony's hand. "Anna, go to the cliffs! Tony and I will rescue the stone. Gregory has already made the call."

Anna nodded and left the crypt through the tattered fence, flying into the cool air.

* * *

"Robert, could you drive a little faster please?" Frederick asked, watching as the bats around them flew to the cliffs.

Bob nodded and pressed his foot down, pulling up to the cliffs not a moment later. Already there was a tonne of people there, Anna sat with Rowan's head in her lap. Gregory was greeting people but never took his eyes away from the turning girl.

"Mother, father!" Anna greeted as the two stepped out of the car. "We found Uncle Von's grave - I mean, Tony found it! he saw the stone in a vision! He and Rudolph are after it now!"

Frederick smiled at her tale and wondered why Rowan was lying with her head in Anna's lap.

And then he smelt it.

The scent of death and decay hung over her, sickly sweet and metallic. "What have you _done, _Gregory?!"

Anna clutched Rowan's body to herself. "She was going to die." Anna growled.

Gregory watched as comprehension dawned on Dottie's face and turned away. He would not feel guilty.

He would not.

Dottie realised just _who _was in the girls arms and shot out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her. The vampires in the area all watched her in... lust? But she shot to her baby girl and tore her away from Anna. "Rowan?" she gasped, fingers pressing into the girls face and prying open those blue, blue eyes - "Rowan?!"

Nothing.

Dottie fought back the lump in her throat and pressed two fingers to Rowan's neck, feeling for a pulse.

Nothing.

"_Rowan?!_"

* * *

Rudolph shot into the sky and flew to Tony's house, flinging open Tony's door and ushering the boy in. "Where is it?"

Tony shot in and shoved his rug out of the way. "Somewhere around here!"

"How do you know?" Rudolph asked calmly.

"How do I know? Did you seriously just ask that? I saw it in a vision!" Tony grabbed a poker from his fireplace and pressed it into Rudolph's hand.

Rudolph stuck it under the floorboard and pulled it up. "No need to bite my head off!"

"Biting is your job, my job is to find the amulet!" Tony ripped up another floorboard and searched through the hay insulation.

* * *

Rowan watched as her mother completely broke down and tried to fight back her own sobs. "I want to go back." she demanded, pulling harshly on the bonds that kept her down.

"Break the vines and you shall leave." The darker Fae mocked her and snapped her fingers, more vines breaking through the floor and pinning the small girl to the floor. "Come, Paige."

The lighter Fae gulped nervously and gave Rowan the smallest of regretful glances. "You have five minutes."

Rowan howled in rage and pulled against the bonds harder, a feeling of fury so strong welling in her body.

She tugged and pulled and there was blood and pain and fury and anger and rage and blood and oh _fuck the pain shit shit shitfuckshit_

there was tears and yells and yelps and a squelching sound and sick crack she believed to be her wrist as she broke that arm free of the bond

there was pools of blood beneath her as she tore her body into shreds but by God she would get out of these bonds and get out of her because her mom was crying and her dad was broken and Tony would be distraught if she truly truly died no, she'd get out she'd get out she'd get out she'd win she'd be free

* * *

And then her eyes snapped open and Dottie was flung away from her, even as fangs were digging into her lip to stop herself from biting her mother.

the rage hadn't gone Tony was choking and crying and screaming and suddenly there was blood and rage and fury and anger and choking and _fuck it was her brother _and she was crying and screaming and there was goo and pain and fuck she was going to kill Rookery how dare he lay a finger on her brother and there was burning in her throat and she was so damn hungry

There was a blinding flash of light that had her recoiling with a sharp hiss.

"You - !" Rookery half laughed, half moaned. "You did that to my eye, it was you - !"

"**Well fucking done**!" she cackled, the neon cross in his hand fizzing out, the glass shattering beneath her hands.

"You - you were just there and now - " he stammered weakly.

"You're coming to Hell with me!" she spat cruelly into his ear, before severing his left hand from his body. She only hoped Tony wasn't watching, because she didn't want him to witness this.

* * *

One moment Dottie was crying and screaming and the next Tony had handed the stone to Rudolph's father. "I believe this is yours, sir."

"Tony - !" Dottie murmured hysterically, her blue eyes agonised. Gregory was beginning to feel guilty, but he couldn't turn them now.

"Mom, it's okay!" Tony tried to sooth her, showing her the large amount of puncture wounds in his sisters body, but Dottie just wasn't listening.

* * *

Gregory so desperately wanted to apologise, but he wouldn't. It was either that or Rowan died.

"The Stone of Attamon is ours!" Frederick called, but his dark eyes were fixated on the crying woman. He began to recite the incantation, gazing up as a beam of light connected the amulet and the comet.

Gregory bit his lip and held Rowan's hand; she needed to pull through this!

Frederick was nearing the end of the incantation now, but something was wrong. He felt... bad.

The beam disconnected as a blimp covered the moon and comet. Tony flinched when he saw Rookery, cross in hand, grasping on wires connected to the blimp.

"Hey! That's my blimp!" Bob shouted in confusion, having listened to the vampires surrounding him. His daughter would be fine in no time.

The vampires scattered at the sight of the cross and hid in the forestry around the cliff edge. "I'm sending you all straight to Hell!" Rookery cackled, leaping to the earth. In one hand, he held the cross. In the other one, he was clutching an empty amulet around his neck.

He slammed his fist into Frederick's hand, sending the amulet into the air. He caught it with relish, pressing the stone from the amulet and discarding the flimsy metal to the side. He pressed the stone into his own amulet and smirked arrogantly.

Tony let out a tiny yelp of frustration and ran to Rookery, slamming his foot into Rookery's knee. Rookery let out a loud curse and picked the boy up with one hand, leaving his amulet hanging uselessly around his neck.

And then Rowan sprung.

Tony turned away the moment those ruby eyes snapped open, because now his sister was turned, hungry, and pissed.

The sound of bones cracking and her harshly whispered words made him visibly flinch, before there was an ice-cold hand pressing the stone into his hands.


	5. The Forgotten

It seemed like weeks before Rowan was fully healed, but it was only four hours. Dottie was at her side at every moment, wetting a cloth and placing it to the girls sweaty forehead, Tony nestled into her side like a guard dog.

"Tony..." Dottie murmured, stroking a hand through her daughter's long hair. "If you ever make friends with vampires again, I will personally kill you myself."

Tony cracked a tiny grin and opened one blue eye.

* * *

Bob gave Tony a small pointer before putting the ball.

"Daaaad!" Tony whined petulantly.

Bob laughed loudly and clapped a hand to the boys back. "Go on then, you make the shot."

* * *

Dottie gave Rowan the shopping list before picking up a wicker basket.

"Five minutes, Rowan, get changed." Dottie commanded, laughing quietly to herself as Rowan made an army salute and shot up the stairs.

The girl pulled two pieces of hair back and rolled them into a rope, clipping it firmly at the back of her head with a pin. She let the rest of her hair flow around her body.

She stripped out of her pyjamas and noted that she was getting more of a curve to her. She shrugged and removed a white summer dress with tiny, threaded pink flowers at the hem from her wardrobe, shaking it out before shimmying into it. She dabbed a tiny hint of lip gloss to her lips before stepping into white flats.

She gave herself a once-over and shrugged; Tony was rapidly losing weight from their tragedy, while she was gaining it. Shouldn't she be more upset that she was getting chubby?

Rowan sighed and thought about the events. From her brief life as a vampire, she wasn't aware of just _what was going on. _All she remember was fury, Tony, fury, Tony and then blinding, smoke furling and unfurling around her.

She grimaced and spun down the stairs, neatly clipping the head of one of her mothers new roses and removing the thorns. She placed it in her hair and gave her mother a happy smile.

"I can only assume you want something..." Dottie sighed, shaking her head with an amused smile.

"I need frames!"

Rowan had finally gotten her desired easel and paint set, spending her time drawing and painting pictures of the Sackville-Baggs. Tony loved watching her paint and he had started doing it himself - it was therapeutic and it made him feel a little better.

"That's fine," Dottie hummed her agreement, plucking her sun hat from one of the shelves and placing it on her head. "Go get Tony, will you?"

Rowan shot up the stairs _again _and slammed Tony's door open with a wide smile. "We're going shopping!" she chirped, placing a baggy shirt on his bed as well as some jeans, a belt, socks and removed his favourite trainers from his shoe stand.

"Where to?" he yawned, getting changed into the clothes she lay out for him.

"I think just a market; I'm going to see if I can get some books." She grinned at him and tugged on his arm. "C'mon, sleepy head!"

Tony sniggered to himself as she pranced about; this was the best she'd been in a while.

* * *

Dottie smiled to herself when her two children sung in the back seat. "And you have never been in love until you've seen the dawn rise the home for the bliiiind!" they chorused, sounding very off tune and high-pitched.

"The first of the gang to die..." Dottie hummed, checking in the mirror for cars.

"Where are we going today, mom?" Tony asked brightly.

"Shopping, young Tony." Rowan smirked, ruffling his spikes.

* * *

Rowan was bored. There was so much to see and so much to do, but she wanted to see Gregory again. She wanted to apologise for the way she acted, because when she should have acted like an _adult_, she was a petulant child. But, she couldn't see Gregory again. He had forgotten her.

Tony had frozen in the square and he was whistling. She knew that whistle. She blinked away tears and stormed up to him, but a young blonde girl and a dark haired boy got there first. Tony laughed loudly and hugged the pair.

Who were they? She squinted and then she realised. Anna and Rudolph. Anna was wearing a bright pink dress and her long hair was pulled into a loose plait. _Jesus Christ._ Rudolph was wearing a ridiculously bright red shirt and his dark hair had been combed down, his bright blue eyes staring back at her in happiness.

She was frozen. Gregory had said they would never meet again...

"Hello, love."


	6. The Lighter

Rowan couldn't believe her eyes. How had they ended up in Scotland? "Hi," she replied dumbly, mouth agape. "Um - how are you?"

Her mind reeling, she studied her... boyfriend? Friend in general? His hair was still long, but it was pulled back into a low ponytail and the streaks she had privately adored were gone - he still had a couple, but they weren't overly outrageous. He was still pale, but it was a healthy type of pale. His eyes were a greyish green - she smiled slightly when she noticed his slit eyebrow. Around his neck he wore a studded choker and his clothing was very dark. Overall, they looked like total contrasts - Rowan was very bright, while Gregory was very dark.

" - Rowan?" His voice was lilting and dark, with a tinge of amusement. She looked up from her appraisal of him and gave him a cheeky smile.

"Yes?" she purred; his eyes widened in confusion. "What were you saying?"

"I erm - I said I was fine and how are you?" His eyes crinkled as he smiled. She was taken by his beauty - he had a crooked smile that made lines appear on his face, but he was gorgeous.

"Oh, I'm very well, thank you. Now, I know I never got to say it, but - thank you for turning me." Her lips quirked into a wide smile. "You saved my life."

"No problem."

They stood in an awkward silence - Rowan so desperately wanted to tell him everything about herself, and explain why she acted the way she did - while he just wanted to embrace her. Rowan saw her mom in the corner of her eye and hoped she'd come over - and, as Dottie started over, she smiled brightly.

"Hello!" Dottie greeted the boy with a grin. "You're Gregory, right?"

"Yes." He smiled politely, but his eyes were on Rowan. She felt marginally uncomfortable, as he was staring rather probingly, but she flushed brightly all the same.

A larger hand took Rowan's own - she looked to the side to see Rudolph giving Gregory a wicked smirk. "C'mon, Row - I'll explain what happened to you. Hello, Mrs. Thompson - my mother wanted to know if you'd like to come in for some tea?"

"Oh, that would be _lovely_!" Dottie gushed, following after Rudolph. Gregory's fists clenched and he snarled in annoyance. Oh, he knew what his brother was doing. Trying to make him _jealous_. And he was doing it well.

* * *

"So, how did you end up back in Scotland?" Dottie asked, blowing on her sugary tea. "Rowan said you'd forget your vampire life."

"It was Rudolph," Freda beamed. "We woke up in a mansion, surrounded by antique jewellery and items - there was, in particular, a lighter, hidden among his shoes!" Freda gave Rowan the _look_. "I hope you got rid of that bad habit, Rowan - oh, where was I? Ah, the lighter. Yes - it was an old lighter, with 'Rowan' carved into the side of it. And he asked me if we knew anyone named Rowan Thompson!"

"I remember losing that lighter," Rowan muttered. "It was you?"

Rudolph shrugged. "I can't remember taking it, to be honest. It was just there. But did you kick that habit?"

She growled. "Yes, I did, actually. How did you remember my last name? That lighter only had my first name on it."

His cheeks pinkened. "Actually, I showed it to Gregory. He remembered your hair and your last name."

She felt her cheeks flush scarlet and buried her head into her hands as Tony began to laugh. Gregory gave an awkward little cough and sipped his tea, little finger in the air. Her bright eyes met his own and she smiled slightly. He pretended that his ears weren't burning now, lest he embarrass himself further.

"But, yeah. Gregory remembered you, and I began to remember Tony - and then Anna remembered you pushed her from the tombstone, when Rookery tried to shoot her with that... machine, and then Scotland somehow came into the equation." He shrugged again.

"Are you going to be enrolled at school?" Dottie asked, smiling warmly.

"Yes." Freda gave the woman a look. "I must ask - is the school safe?" she fretted, winding her fingers around her steaming cup of coffee. "Friendly? What are the teachers like?"

* * *

And with that conversation, Rowan and Tony had somehow gotten roped into carpooling with the Sackville-Baggs to school. Anna was in the same year as Tony, while Rudolph was in the same school as Gregory and Rowan - except he was in the second year, while they were in third year. At lunch times, they were allowed to escort Anna and Tony to their school, and escort them back again.

Rowan removed her timetable from her bag and bit her lip. "Gregory, can I see your timetable? What form are you in?"

"Er - sure," He handed her the slip of pink paper. "And I think I'm in 3BR, why?"

"Just wondering. I'm in 3JG." She compared their timetables and smiled inwardly. They had English together, as well as the Core Sciences and Mathematics. The two differences between their timetable were Religious Education, which Rowan didn't take but Gregory did, and Catering - Rowan had taken Catering where Gregory had chosen Physical Education. "We have a _tonne_ of lessons together."

"We do?" His voice was tinged with surprise - and she quickly identified it as fake. Unknowingly, a bright smile spread across her face as she handed the timetable back.

"You're going to sit by me in every lesson we have." It wasn't a question. It was a command.

"We're here!" Dottie told them all. "Have a good day, kids. Bob will be picking you up, and you'll be staying at ours tonight. Freda already dropped your things off last night."

"Where's everyone sleeping?" Tony asked, leaning against the window. He was happy that he had his friends back, but why did he have to be the same age as Anna?

"Well, Anna is in with Rowan, Gregory and Rudolph are with you - "

"There's not enough room in my room!" Tony groaned.

"You will make room." Dottie laughed. "Now, off you go!"

They all piled out, Tony and Anna breaking away to the smaller school. "How much betting Tony falls in love with her?" Rowan laughed.

"I bet... my chocolate collection." Rudolph said thoughtfully. "That he does fall in love with her. If he doesn't... I bet my Nintendo Color."

"I bet... getting my nose pierced if he doesn't." Gregory added, watching the duo walk away. Anna was chatting his ear off, but there was a definite flush to Tony's neck.

"I bet my easel if he doesn't." Rowan held both of her hands out, and the trio shook on their bets. "Although, I don't fancy losing my easel, so I think I'll change my name to Cupid for the time being."

She laughed to herself and walked away, her bag thrown over her shoulder. Gregory watched her go - this was the closest to normal they had been and he didn't want to lose it.

"You've got it bad, don't you?" Rudolph laughed. "Just be yourself, Gregory. Talk to her. Stop pussy-footing around, like you have done. You're too alike to not somehow end up together!"

Rudolph deftly dodged the oncoming strike with a smile. "Now, where do we go from here?" he wondered.

"The front office, I assume?" Gregory drawled, walking ahead.

* * *

Rowan knew she had killed Rookery. She knew it! She'd jumped from the cliff _with _him, for god sake! But... Why had she just seen his red truck drive by the window? Worry settled like lead in her stomach. She hoped she was worried for nothing - because the Sackville-Baggs, as humans, could die. And she didn't want them to die.

Her pale, stony face must have worried Gregory, because throughout the morning he asked her what was wrong. She was broken from her worry when a piece of triangular paper met her pink fountain pen.

She gently unfolded the triangle paper. _What's wrong?_ It read. Gregory's handwriting was gorgeous. It was neat and slanted perfectly, with loops and curves and he had obvious mastery of his fountain pen - there were no smudges or blot marks in sight.

_Nothing - I've got a horrendous tummy ache. _She hoped her lie was believable. Her own handwriting was messy - her 'h' looked like an 'n' and there was a lovely blot part way through 'tummy'.

She blew on the ink gently, before folding the note and dropping it close to Gregory, along with her Parker pen. "Sorry, sir," Gregory murmured, picking the two things up.

"It's fine, my boy!" the man chortled. Rowan grimaced internally - her English teacher was known for being a stern man, but Gregory had managed to wrap the man around his finger by placing a shiny red apple on his desk. The man barely even remembered Rowan's name! "Now, where was I?"

"You were talking about how the relationship between Eddie and Catherine begins to break in the first Act of the play," Rowan said helpfully. "And how the power play between Marco and Eddie finally reaches the breaking point when Marco lifts the chair with one hand."

"Ah, yes..." The man's voice trailed off. "Thank you - erm, Miss. Thompson, was it?" She sneered in response.

Gregory obviously wasn't satisfied with her response. He had grabbed her hand when they were leaving the classroom and dragged her across the grounds during 'break time'. "What's wrong, really?"

She bit her lip. "I - are you certain Rookery died?" she blurted out, before slapping her hands over her mouth.

"Nobody checked..." he trailed off. "Why?"

"It's probably nothing, but I saw his truck earlier. It's weird, though, because didn't it sink?"

"It was probably just your mind playing tricks on you," he said gently. "Don't worry yourself."

"You're right," She laughed weakly. "I'm glad you found me again."

She shuffled forward and pressed the tiniest of kisses to the side of his mouth. Well, the side of his mouth was her _intention_ - but he had turned his face when he heard, "Gregory!" from his brother.

His eyes widened almost comically when her lips met his, his arms automatically going to her waist and deepening the kiss.

Her lips were soft. Impossibly soft. She tasted like bubblegum, vanilla and peppermint. It was nice. Her bright eyes stared into his and her lips weren't responding much, so he let her go.

He would savour that moment - he didn't think she'd agree to it again.

* * *

Rowan's hand rose to her mouth and her index finger traced where his lips had been. _Her first kiss._ It was a good first kiss, she mused. His lips moving against hers. And she was kind of annoyed that he'd walked away. Who does that?

Admittedly, she was shocked. And more than a little embarrassed. _Her first god damned kiss_.

She hid the smile that bloomed on her lips behind her fringe and hoped it covered her crimson face, as well.

She froze when she heard a mocking laugh - she whirled around, only to see blood-red eyes glaring out at her from the darkness of the trees. "Who are you?" she asked.

"_Forgotten me already, princess?_" She knew that voice. Her eyes widened in horror and she stepped into the gleaming sunlight.

"You can't touch me in the sunlight," she murmured. "You can't harm me."

"_Aye, that may be true. But what about at night, princess?_" He began to laugh. "_What about your little brother? I swore I would get you, princess - look what you have done to me! The very thing I detest... You did this to me. It doesn't matter where you go, or where you hide. I will find you, princess. And I will **destroy **you_. _I will start with someone you hold dear - and think carefully, princess, about your response._"

She forced away the tears and turned away. "If you _dare_ touch Tony," she hissed. "I will kill you again,_ Rookery_."

His laughter sounded like the hissing of snake. "_If you tell anyone, princess, I'll kill all those you hold dear... and you will be with me for eternity."_

* * *

She was nervous for the rest of the day. Rookery had been turned, he was somehow out in the sunlight, driving his truck - and she was sure he had threatened Tony. _Who does he think he is?_

Gregory had also been ignoring her. Rudolph was hovering between the two like an annoying wasp while Anna ranted to Tony about something or someone. She slipped on her bulky headphones while they waited for her dad and began listening to Alanis Morissette.

Five minutes later, her dad still hadn't arrived. She felt worried, but not enough to call for speaking to anyone.

Ten minutes later, she groaned in annoyance and began to walk. "Hey!" She could barely hear Tony's voice as she walked away, but she felt it when he began to follow.

It only took them thirty minutes to get home, which was surprising. It had taken her double the amount of time to get to the library - on bike. She felt uncomfortable knowing the Sackville-Baggs were staying with them for the entire night, but she hoped she could just barricade her bedroom door and shower into nothingness.

The car was there when they finally reached their home and she let out a series of expletives, still off in her own little world. She opened the door and dropped her back, uncaring of those following her dutifully. Tony copied her actions, dropping his bag, while the Sackville-Baggs were much more reserved and placed them on the cellar stairs.

"Mom?" Rowan called. "Where was dad?"

There was a muffled response from the kitchen, so she headed there first. "What's up?"

Her mom had red-rimmed eyes, while her dad had a bandage wrapped securely around his head. "Sorry, hun. Erm - yeah... You hungry?"

"What happened to you?" Rowan asked, pursing her lips.

"Accident at work," her dad muttered gruffly. He refused to look in her direction. "Tripped and fell."

She swallowed her annoyance. "I'm not hungry, mom. I'll be in my room - if you need me."

Her voice broke and she swirled on her foot, storming past her little entourage. She kept her eyes down as she sprinted up the stairs, closing her bedroom door with a quiet click.

Her heart was pounding in her chest. How had Rookery survived? Had she bit him when she _tried _to kill him?

How far would he go to make her suffer? She groaned slightly. Trust her to get into a situation like this. It was already bad enough that the Fae, who she had now determined to _not_ be a figment of her imagination, had actually made her a freak among humans. She'd noticed it a couple of days ago.

The golden lines running on her body, and the way her skin seemed to be more shimmery than usual. Her footsteps seemed lighter, while her body had begun to 'bulk' up - where she had originally thought she was gaining fat, it was muscle. How did she know it was muscle?

Because she had somehow managed to move her very heavy bed to the other side of the room, to barricade her door, while contemplating all of this. She sighed and shook herself, as if to bring her into focus. She shifted her wardrobe over to the double doors that lead out to her balcony, removed the rope hanging from the fencing, locked the doors and moved the wardrobe into a proper, fixed place. While she knew her wardrobes wouldn't keep Rookery out, she could buy herself a second or two.

Her hand rose to her lips again and a smile bloomed on her face. She had been very stupid, hadn't she? No matter. He had been the one ignoring her first, right?

She changed into her pyjamas - a white and purple polka dot jumpsuit - and tied her hair back into a high ponytail. She had originally intended to grow her fringe out but instead she'd kept it. While sometimes she regretted it, as it was hard to manage with her hair being curly, she still liked it.

She pulled her bed back, her feet no longer sliding on the floor like they used to. She sat down on it and sighed, fingering her duvet in thought.

She pressed her ear to Tony's door but heard nothing, so she stepped down the stairs.

"Where's mom and dad?" she asked, surprised.

"Hospital," Tony replied, engrossed in whatever movie he was watching. "Something about changing the bandage."

"That's grim." She laughed, feeling both awkward and uncomfortable in this atmosphere.

"Blood everywhere." Anna murmured, her dark eyes sad and mopey. "Please may I talk to you, Rowan?"

"You already are." Rowan grinned, holding her hand out for Anna to take. The blonde girl took it and leapt up. "I'm hungry - does anyone want anything?"

"Please could I have a drink?" Rudolph asked, his eyes fixated on the green gaming device he held in his hands. "Gregory too, but he's too much a wimp to ask you."

Rowan coughed to cover her amusement. "It's not Gregory's fault, Rudolph. More me. You saw what happened, right? I kissed him and didn't respond. What do you want to drink?"

"Whatever you have..." Rudolph trailed off, his tongue swiping across his lower lip as he pounded the A key.

Rowan shrugged and, grabbing Anna by the waist, walked to the kitchen. She passed Gregory, lips pressed tightly together, and put Anna on the side. "What's up?"

"Tony!" the little girl burst out, making Gregory look up as well. Rowan started making some food for herself. "He's so... childish!"

Laughter bubbled out of Rowan before she could stop herself. "Anna, darling - he's only nine years old. He doesn't have the perks of being a three-hundred-year-old _something _stuck in a little girls body, y'know? He still thinks girls have cooties."

Anna flushed in annoyance. "I thought you would understand," She sniffed delicately. "Obviously not."

"Anna, I've never had a boyfriend before. I know nothing about _men_." It was a half-truth. Rowan really had never had a boyfriend before, just boys she'd messed around with for experience. "The most I can say is breathe through your nose, and I only know that because of my mom's sex talk!"

"Sex?" Anna asked. "What's that? Gregory?"

Rowan nearly dropped the knife she was using to hack at the cabbage. Her horrified face turned to meet Gregory, who looked equally as horrified.

"Well, sex is - "

"Erm, sex is - "

The pair of them stopped speaking at once. "I think you should tell her." Rowan said firmly.

"I think you should! You're the one who brought it up!" Gregory snapped back.

"She's three hundred and something! How have you not told her about _sex_?!"

"What's sex?" A small voice piped up from the door way.

Rowan dropped the knife she was still holding and, quickly moving her foot out-of-the-way, let out a small cuss. "Nothing, Tony. You don't need to know."

"Well if Anna gets to know, me and Rudolph should too!"

Rowan's eyebrow twitched. "Rudolph doesn't know what sex is?" she breathed, staring at Gregory in something she would later call terror. Gregory shook his head.

"Should we _both _tell them?" Gregory offered helpfully. Rowan nodded her head and steeled her shoulders, beckoning the two boys in to sit at the table.

"Um, you know how men have a penis instead of a vagina?"

Rudolph nodded, while Anna and Tony shook their heads. Rowan groaned loudly.

* * *

"How was I meant to know Anna didn't know what sex was?" Rowan shouted at Gregory, who was shouting something along the lines of 'factual information' and 'brain overload'.

"She's nine years old!"

"I was eight when I found out!"

"She's _nine _years old with protective parents!"

"She's three hundred and something years old!"

"_Protective _parents!"

"How does Rudolph not know what sex is? He was a teenager going through puberty! He must have been a hormonal mess!"

"I was the hormonal mess, not Rudolph - he didn't have to know!"

Rowan flushed, her chest heaving from the force of her shouting. Gregory was panting just as hard, while the three children's head moved backwards and forwards like they were watching a ping-pong match.

Rowan froze when she was glowing red eyes watching them from the window. Rookery winked, gesturing to the dark sky. Gregory spun around and saw the two red eyes. "Who is that?" he hissed.

The eyes disappeared and there was a loud bang upstairs. Rowan's heart leapt to her throat. There was another loud bang. "_Well done princess!_" She heard him cackle. "_That kept me out all right! Good job - now, I'm coming to get you..._"

"We have to get out of here." She gasped, gathering her wits about her and breathing deeply. "We have to go - "

"_I'm going to tuuuurn you..._"

"We have to go!" she screamed, her hand hitting Gregory's back - and she felt like she was hitting a cold wall. Gregory spun around, his eyes their sickening red hue, and he bit her neck. She hit him with the palm of her head, his jaw snapping from the force of her hit, and she turned to her brother.

"Don't come near me," he sobbed, his blue eyes wide and glazed. His neck had been bitten several times and he was held like a ragdoll in Rudolph's arms, who was crooning bitter poison into his ear; Rudolph gave her a foul wink, his hand sliding down to Tony's trousers and dipping in. "You only hurt people!"

"_I'm going to huuuuuuuuurt youuuuuuu..._"

* * *

Dottie shot out of her chair when she heard her daughter scream and something bang against the floor. "_No! Stop - stop, please - no, not again..._"

"Rowan!" she called, rushing up the stairs two at a time. The eldest boy, Gregory, was matching her pace and beating it at times, while Bob lagged behind.

Gregory slammed into her bedroom door, surveying the scene quickly. Her wardrobe had been pushed in front of her balcony doors, and it had been slammed over. The doors were flung open wide. She was lying on her bed, her curtains open, revealing her writhing form. She had the golden swirls Gregory was sure didn't exist running along the length of her body, focussed mainly at her throat.

Rookery gave Gregory a malicious, bloody grin, turning into a bat and flying through the open balcony doors. Gregory wondered where the blood had come from, before he noticed the blood stained bed and her fingers clenching and unclenching in pain.

There was a steady drip of blood to the floor from Rowan's wrist.


	7. The Princess

**Hopefully everyone realised that the majority of the chapter previous was a ****_dream! _****Except the end part. And the Rookery not dying thing**. _If you didn't realise it was a dream, it was where I __**purposefully**__ left out the part of her getting up from the bed - when she had been 'fingering' her duvet (not a euphemism lol). She'd fallen asleep - hence why she stepped to Tony's room without actually getting up from her bed. That __**was not**__ an error. I make many errors and that one wasn't, ok. _

**God, I love Rookery. He's so bad ass.**

**I'm going to attempt to give more depth on Rowan - because after reading through the old stuff, she seems like a half-assed character, doesn't she? I feel bad for that. **_Not bad enough, mind, to have a complete character uphaul. I apologise, brochachos. This chapter is going to be mainly bonding and stuff, because as much as I love drama it gets a bit grim after a while, doesn't it? Yes, children - it does. It's not good for you._

* * *

The Fae woman gave a loud yell as she snapped another vine of Rookery's. That _bastard_ - he had been found by a rogue vampire who had smelt the vampire hunter on him. He thought it would be _funny_ to turn him - oh but it wasn't funny, was it? Not only had the rogue vampires avoided being changed into a mortal again, they were turning people for _fun_. Including Rookery - she let out another yell as she snapped another vine.

Rowan Thompson - the one who had been blessed by the Fae to protect her brother - had managed to _piss_ him off to such a massive extent!

The woman breathed deeply, snapping another vine. They were already dead, but that didn't mean he wasn't feeling every pull and snap of his life strings breaking.

So, she thought, while breaking his life strings. He had fed from the very girl they had sought to protect - that wasn't so bad, except her blood would probably be addictive. So he'd go back for more.

What a _ball ache_. She'd have to clean up this mess.

* * *

Gregory pressed his hands down on her gaping wrist, in a weak attempt to stem the heavy blood flow. "Rowan, stop moving, okay?"

Her body stopped bucking and writhing; her brilliant blue eyes snapped open and pinned Gregory to the spot. He smiled weakly. "Hi, love. I don't think Rookery is quite dead, is he?" She shook her head.

"Met me after you went," she slurred, unaware of the blood pooling on the floor. "Threatened family - Tony - an' kept calling me princess."

Dottie, bless the woman, had somehow managed to find Rowan's first aid kit - she passed Gregory several balls of absorbent cotton to press on the wound that wouldn't stop bleeding, before she ripped the balls away and slapped down a translucent green mesh on the wound, a lint-free dressing too, before snapping a wrist brace into place. "She needs to go to the hospital."

"Will I be okay?" Rowan asked, her eyes hazy and glazed. "Keep Tony away from Rudolph - don't need no sex talk..."

Gregory smiled, despite the horrific situation. "What _have_ you been dreaming about, aye?"

"Anna was complainin' bout Tony being a little boy and we had to give 'em a sex talk. Then Rookery got in and - " She yawned widely. "Gregory bit me - Tony was a blood bag and Rudolph was touching him in his - no no place. Told me I hurt everyone. _Huuuuuuurt you._"

"The ambulance is on its way," Dottie interrupted her daughter's weak ramblings - although she privately thought they were terrifying. "You get in there with her and I'll drive to the hospital."

Gregory smiled slightly in response. "Thank you."

"I'll leave you to it, then. Could you prepare an overnight bag for her? And yourself." Dottie gave him another weak smile before leaving the room.

He found an unused bag and put in the essentials - underwear (which he tried not to look at, as he _was_ raised a gentleman), socks and flat shoes, a shirt and some trousers. She could use his toothbrush and she didn't really have to wash herself in the hospital, did she? He packed in a pack of hair bobbles and a brush while she babbled in the background.

"Aw, I really like Gregory." He froze. "He's so nice to me. I kissed him today," She started giggling. "He's a good kisser. I wish we could do it more often."

He grinned despite the circumstances. She liked him? "You only have to ask," he told her as she giggled. "I could kiss you all day."

"Okay, Gregory!" She beamed.

The sound of sirens outside made him grimace. Just as he was having a breakthrough with her...

* * *

"What was it?" Frederick murmured, one hand lying protectively on Gregory's head. "Who did it?"

Dottie swallowed her nerves. "Erm - you know that guy? Who was," Her voice lowered. "_Hunting_ you?" Frederick's eyes widened, before they narrowed in anger.

"How did he survive?" Freda wondered, holding Anna against her chest. "Oh, _what_ are we going to do?"

"You are coming to live with us." Frederick told Dottie, ignoring Bob who was holding his head in his hands. "I will not take no for an answer. He does not know where we live, although he knows that we are human and in Scotland - Rowan will stay in a room with Gregory, Rudolph, Tony and Anna, while you will be next door. We will be on the other side of their room."

Dottie nodded, not trusting herself to speak. Rowan had needed twelve stitches, but the doctor's had praised their quick thinking for stemming the blood flow.

Gregory grunted and shifted, one green eye opening. He yawned widely and pushed himself up, his father's hand falling to the side. "She - " He yawned widely. "Saw his truck at school."

Frederick stiffened, his jaw clenching tightly. "What?" he breathed. "He can't go out in the sun!"

Gregory nodded in agreement. "But he also met her _at_ school. He was hiding in the trees and threatened you," He looked at the Thompson's. "And he called her princess."

"That's - impossible! He would have burned the moment he stepped out of his truck - hell, he would have burned in his truck!" Frederick snapped, beginning to pace.

"Don't call me a liar, sir," Rowan croaked, her eyes still closed. "I said that he couldn't touch me in sunlight. He said he could at night. Which he so aptly demonstrated." She opened her eyes and immediately slammed them shut. "Fuuuck - could someone turn the lights down?"

"Stop it with that filthy language," Frederick admonished, still pacing. "A woman should never cuss like a foul-mouthed sailor." He paused, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "This is a disaster."

"You're telling me." Rowan muttered under her breath, eyeing her wrist. "That's going to scar, isn't it?"

Dottie nodded, her fingers clasped at her throat.

"Can I take the bandage off?" Rowan asked, picking at the white gauze. When her mother nodded again, she ripped the tape open and unravelled the bandage. The wound itself had been wrapped in a light green antibacterial strip, but she could see the angry redness surrounding the cut. There were blue stitches looped through the wound, but the cut itself was roughly four inches long and jagged. "He could have been a little neater," she murmured, picking at the strip. "It looks like I tried to kill myself, doesn't it?"

Dottie let out a tiny whimper as she nodded. "I - if I hadn't seen _him _with my own eyes, I would have said you were lying." Her breath hitched as Bob stood up, his face thunderous.

"I'm still convinced you're lying," he hissed. "Coming back from the dead? Do you realise how preposterous that sounds?!"

Rowan's eyebrow rose, which only seemed to enrage her father further. "You've held this back, haven't ya'?"

Bob grit his teeth. Frederick's eyes darkened, almost unnoticeable to anyone except his wife, as he planned his speech to not only tell the man what he was doing, but making him see it too. Family was family.

Rowan wrapped her wrist back up and lay down, turning to her side. "I'd like you to leave now, everyone. Thanks for seeing me."

Tony was strangely silent throughout the entire ordeal and, as he slid into the hospital bed with her, she could guess why. They always had the type of relationship that revolved around _her_ defending _him_ - and he would try to protect _her_ when possible. And this time, she had shown herself to be weak - and he had shown himself to not be strong enough.

Gregory and Rudolph both stayed sat down, while Anna had been ushered out with Freda and Frederick. Dottie had to drag Bob out, as he was adamant on staying in the room - Rowan heard Frederick's voice bark out, "You're a bloody fool, Robert!"

"What's going to happen?" Tony's voice broke the silence. "Are we going to be okay?"

Rowan's arm curled around his chest. "You're going to be fine, Tony."

The answer seemed to appease Tony, but it made suspicion rise in the other two boys. Tony's breath evened out until he was in a deep slumber - she moved to lie on her back and he shifted too, clinging to her like a monkey. "What _do _you think will happen?" Rowan asked the other two boys.

"We'll try to wait it out for as long as possible," Rudolph said, shrugging. "I think my father will be contacting the rest of the family to ask for their help - but the problem with Rookery is he knows what to do to kill a vampire. And that makes it harder for us, because you can't kid a kidder, can you?"

Gregory carried on. "I guess we're going to carry on as normal, but be evasive. Rookery knows what school we go to, but we can't quit school, obviously. That means we're going to have to carry neon lights around with us, as well as crosses. Garlic is also helpful, but I think we'd be better saving that for our home instead of carrying it around with us at school."

"Do crosses still work if you're not religious?" Rowan asked, her eyes dimming. She had lost her faith in any God when she had been forced into the mental hospital. The screams of the women occasionally haunted her still - screaming for their children, husbands, for their 'God' to take them away.

Gregory paused to think. "I am... unsure of that. We mostly just shied away from them because our instincts told us to."

Rowan hummed in acknowledgement. "I guess I'll carry a knife and stake in my school bag, then," she joked. "And my lighter. You didn't like the idea of me burning you."

"Fire isn't good for us." Gregory grinned - she was once again struck by his beauty. "Perhaps it's because of the fact that we were so cold, or the aversion to light - we shy away from fire."

"Well... Are you going to stay here? How'd I get a private room?" Rowan guessed the room was private - it was decorated lavishly, with potted plants and lacking the sickly sterile smell.

"We're allowed to stay - my father was an important man in his old life, and he's important in this life now." Rudolph beamed. "So we're staying with you tonight."

Rowan smiled faintly as darkness began clouding in her vision. "Well, goodnight, then. Sweet dreams."

* * *

"Wake up, children!"

Rowan snarled in annoyance. Her nurse was overly chirpy and, as the blast of sunlight hit her face, she hated the woman in that moment. Tony let out a groan that sounded eerily similar to one of her own.

"Now, we're going to check the stitches, change the strip and bandage and you'll be free to go, missy. Come on; up!"

"Fuck you," Rowan muttered under her breath, throwing herself out of the warm bed and picking up her 'overnight' bag Gregory had made for her. "Seven o'clock in the bloody morning. Surely there are laws against that? Does this mean I have to go to school?"

She brushed her teeth with a toothbrush she was sure _wasn't_ hers, combed her hair and pulled it up into a tight bun. She changed into the clothes Gregory had packed for her - which, surprisingly, worked well together. There was a cream shirt with ruffled sleeves and collar as well as a pair of black trousers. Hell, she even had some black flats to go with it!

She unravelled the bandages on her arm, wiped the underneath of her eyes with her index finger to remove some of the mascara she hadn't removed, and brushed her fringe down with her fingers.

Gregory stumbled in, his eyes dark and heavy. The toothbrush was still in her mouth as she fussed with her hair. "Good morning." Gregory greeted. "Please may I have my toothbrush?"

Rowan nearly dropped the toothbrush from embarrassment, but gave her front teeth another quick brush and washed it before handing it back. His hand met hers and something that could only be described as a 'spark' shot through her.

"Morning," she mumbled. "Do we have school today?"

Gregory laughed, and she was hit with a sudden sense of _intense like _for this boy in front of her. It wasn't love - because, despite everything that they had been through, two months was not a long enough time for her to 'love' someone. She blushed despite herself; she was almost ashamed to say that she was _pleased_ that she'd made him laugh.

"Yes, we do. We have the day together again, so you're not leaving me by myself, okay?"

"Okay."

They shared a small smile and she felt... happier. It was hard to explain. Lifted - like something weighted was removed from her shoulders. She knew that Gregory would be there for her throughout this ordeal, and that made her _happy_.

When was the last time she had been happy?

Her musings were broken by the nurse taking her wrist, none-too-gently, removing the strip, running her finger along the stitches and bloody, agitated skin before replacing the strip and bandage. Rowan grimaced. It looked like she'd tried to kill herself, even through her blouse. _Brilliant_.

The nurse bounded away, humming like the cheerful _bitch_ she was, announcing Frederick's presence. Rowan gave the man a nod and a smile. "Thank you," She grinned. "For yesterday. Telling my dad off."

Frederick smiled, making his entire face shift - it wasn't a very nice smile."Tell me if he gives you any more trouble."

"Oh, I will." Rowan's eyes sparkled in amusement. "After school, do we go straight to yours or do we pick things up from home?"

"A relative of mine will be picking you up in a black jeep - Gregory will know who he is, so you needn't worry about that. You will be taken, first, to your own home to pick up your essentials - you will have thirty minutes to do this, so be quick about it. Duvet, pillows, blankets - we have them in abundance but if you prefer your own, make sure to bring them as well. You will then get into a _silver_ jeep, driven by myself, while my cousin drives the black jeep around the outskirts of town."

Rowan nodded. "Black jeep, silver jeep - got it. Why's your cousin so willing to help? I wouldn't."

Frederick smiled and nodded in the direction of the bathroom. "Gregory," he murmured. "In all of his years, has never asked to court - or _date_, someone before. You must be something special."

No matter how vehemently she denied it, her face was a very, _very _bright shade of red.

* * *

School was boring. Incredibly boring. She didn't care much for electrolysis or electrolytes, or how they related to brine. She didn't care much for titration calculation, either, but that was better than electrolysis. She loved it, however, in their Biology lesson her teacher had Gregory stand at the front of the class to introduce himself.

"Hi. My name is Gregory Sackville-Bagg. I have many hobbies, and many dislikes. I care for this, and the rest of peers, very little. May I sit down now?" Rowan, whose head was propped up by her palm, quickly shifted her hand to hide her giggles. Her teacher, who was a pretty woman who_ knew_ she was pretty, began to redden in embarrassment or annoyance - she was a hard woman to read.

"Sit next to Miss. Thompson," The woman gave him a disdainful sneer. "Rowan, put your hand up."

Rowan rose her hand but kept her head down - she was sure her smile was threatening to split her face in two. She felt the seat beside her shift and she turned her head, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

Gregory gave her a tiny grin in return and they focussed on the lesson, jotting down notes in their yellow books.

Lunch time was annoying. Nigel and Flint - who named their child_ Flint?_ Had taken to following Tony and Anna around like little puppy dogs. "They kind of... stopped being popular, once Rudolph threatened them and with the added threat of you, they left me alone." Tony told her, whispering.

"So now they've latched to you?" Rowan rose a dubious eyebrow and gave the two boys a once-over. While she didn't like it, they seemed sincere enough. She let out a long sigh, which made the two boys pale and look at each other in what appeared to be worry, and she smiled. "Come on, then. Sit with us."

Rowan felt awful - their grandfather, Lord McAshton, was by the man who watched over the cemetery. Her dad had continued to build the golf course, but the two boys hadn't been the same since.

Tony shifted over, making her sandwiched between Gregory and himself, so that Nigel could sit down. Flint sat down next to Anna. They removed identical lunch boxes from their satchels, to show identical sandwiches. It was obvious that one of the boys had made them. Rowan frowned, eyeing her bag filled with food (no doubt Tony's was the same) and, shrugging her mental shoulders, she emptied her food out on the table. "Take what you want, boys. And the lovely Anna, of course."

They had a good lunch time, too, but the cousins (or twins, Rowan wasn't sure) were obnoxious. "I hope they grow up soon," she complained. "_Money _this, _look what I have_ that. I really don't care."

"Rowan?" Anna's hesitant voice broke her out of her rambling. "Please could you plait my hair?"

Rowan grinned widely. "I always wanted a sister." She spun around on the bench and gestured to her lap. Anna sat down delicately, folding her dress beneath her and handing Rowan a silver hairbrush. She French-plaited the golden locks loosely and sent the girl on her way when the bell rang.

She tried to ignore the red truck parked outside of the joint school gates.

The afternoon continued the same tune that the morning held - boring and uninteresting. Who decided to put letters with numbers? When was she ever going to need the Quadratic formula? How would Trigonometry help her in life? She grumbled internally, shifting and sighing in her seat every five minutes.

"Miss. Thompson!" her teacher shouted, throwing the chalk on the floor. She gave him a flat look. "How about you come answer this question, aye? Using the notes from your book you have _undoubtedly_ made."

She eyed the formula on the board. It was a large jumble of numbers and letters - and her teacher damn well knew she didn't make any notes. She sighed, torn between leaving the lesson in a fit of fury or bursting into hysteric sobs, claiming her dog died. She widened her eyes, deciding on the second option, when she noticed the book in front of her wasn't her own. The handwriting was neat and cursive - _oh, you cheeky boy._ _You clever, cheeky boy. _She picked up Gregory's book, the piece of chalk from the floor, and copied out his answer.

She handed the chalk to her shell-shocked teacher with a wide, toothy smile that screamed fake and sat down.

Gregory was silent but she could feel his stare on her turned head; she lowered her hand beneath the table and gave his leg a grateful squeeze. She felt his hand clasp around hers.

They stayed that way for the rest of the lesson, not saying a word - just holding hands. _It was nice_, she admitted to herself. _But will it last?_

The last lesson they had for the day was Spanish - they had the choice between French and Spanish and, despite the fact that Gregory was fluent in Spanish, he had taken it to spend time with Rowan.

On the way there, Rowan's ears flushed pink. She had planned on dropping Gregory's hand the moment the end-of-lesson bell rang, but he had other plans. He'd let go, packed his things away, taken her bag and grabbed her hand again. He was deceptively strong - his hand wasn't going anywhere.

"_Are they going out?_" She heard one person mutter.

"_He's so lucky - she's like, an ice queen._" That one made her smirk.

"_I'm so jealous of her - how can she bag the new boy so quickly?_"

"People are whispering," he drawled, tightening his grip on her hand. "Could we give them a show?"

Rowan eyed one girl who was giving her a particularly scathing look and grinned wickedly - she spun him around and gave him a long kiss on the lips.

* * *

Well.

Rudolph hadn't expected _that_.

They didn't _look _like they were dating. But, Gregory_ had_ asked to court her. Interesting.

Anna would be pleased. Very pleased indeed.

* * *

Frederick's cousin was a strange man. He had a nervous twitch in his right eyebrow and he kept worrying his lips, leaving them red and looking very sore. She didn't care much for him.

"Thank you," She opened the car door and gave him a nod. "Good luck."

He gave her a nod back and she left the door open as Tony slid out behind her. She felt extremely sick going into her bedroom, but Gregory was behind her so she put up a confident front. Freda was waiting on her chaise, her grandmother's doll on the other end. Her wardrobe had been lifted and fixed into place with metal bolts around her balcony doors and her clothes were spread out on the floor.

"How long do you think we'll be at yours?" Rowan asked shyly, finding her suitcases on her bed.

"Hm..." Freda shrugged her shoulders, smiling wanly. "I'd say pack everything, dear."

Rowan folded up her clothing as quickly as possible, while Gregory changed her blood-stained duvet and pillows. She managed to fit her entire wardrobe into her large suitcase, which was surprisingly - but she groaned when she realised she hadn't packed her shoes, socks and underwear. She used her medium-sized one to shove her other belongings into, including her doll.

"There has been a small change in sleeping." Freda told her. "You will be staying with Gregory, while Rudolph, Anna and Tony share a room next to you."

Rowan nodded - she didn't want to question it when Rookery could be listening. Highly unlikely, given the sun was unusually bright in Scotland today, but he could have 'bugged' her room or something. She didn't know what that entailed, but it sounded bad.

"I think - I'm done." She cracked her knuckles and wrists, straightening her back. Gregory picked up her large suitcase and the medium one, leaving her the little one and left without a word, leaving her entirely confused and more than a little upset. "Have I somehow upset him?" she asked Freda, her thoughts whirring.

Freda gave her a motherly smile, tinged with a wicked streak. "I think he's just trying to figure you out, dear. Females are an enigma to him."

"Oh..." Rowan trailed off, before shrugging and shoving the matter out of the metaphorical window. Grabbing her bedding, she hoisted the little case into her arms and toddled down the stairs.

Frederick gave her a look, one that indicated he knew something she didn't - but she pushed that from her mind as well, loading the jeep with her items. Despite the fact she had a tonne of belongings, Tony's belongings slotted in perfectly, along with her parents. "We're going now," Gregory told her, arms circling her waist. She jumped, biting her tongue and hitting her head against the jeep boot. "Oops - sorry, love."

"Oh, you will be," She turned so that she was facing him, her hands going up and winding into his hair. "We're going to have a very long talk about us, you know."

"Looking forward to it." He grumbled all the way to his house, even as he was taking her stuff to his room.

She trailed after him, balancing her duvet and small suitcase in her arms. Gregory had chosen the bedroom furthest away from the front door, as well as the room with a tiny window. The walls were a dark shade of blue - almost black. His bed was very large - larger than her own, in fact, with dark curtains surrounding it. His bedding set was midnight blue. _Again_, she mused, _total contrasts - yet so pathetically similar. _"What should I do with my things?"

"Unpack." His voice was silky smooth and his eyes were lit with an unknown emotion. "You will be staying here for a while. Now, underneath my bed, there is a trapdoor - "

"What?" she exclaimed, nudging her small suitcase to the floor and dropping her bedding on his bed. She knelt and, sure enough, there was a tiny raise in the floorboards - not noticeable if you weren't aware of it. "Oh, wow..."

" - as I was saying... Trapdoor. If there are any sounds that sound like bat wings, you will be pushed underneath my bed and you will have to wriggle your way down the chute. Rudolph and Anna both have a similar system, and there are three tunnels that lead into a large opening. There is then six tunnels lining the walls - you chose the one in the North-Westerly direction, which leads to the town square. At some point you're going to have to go down the other tunnels and leave your clothing at the end, to confuse his nose."

"Wha - how?" she stammered, feeling very foolish. "How did you - ?"

Gregory tapped the side of his nose with a smile. "Now, that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

He gestured in the general direction of his wardrobe. "Feel free to shove your stuff in there. I've shifted some things about so you should have enough room for your things."

Rowan opened his wardrobe doors and grimaced. His definition of shifting things about meant ripping his clothing from their hangers and shoving them at the bottom. _Well, that won't do. _"Don't you have any music?"

He grunted and she heard him moving around his room, while she hung her clothing up that need hanging, before starting on his own. She was pleasantly surprised to hear _The Doors_, but it was a welcomed surprise; she moved on to his chest of drawers, where she found neatly folded underwear in the first half of the drawer.

"So." Gregory's voice broke her humming and concentration. "What do you need to talk about _us_ for?"

She had hoped he'd forgotten about that. "Well... what are we?" She continued folding her underwear and arranging them neatly next to his, trying to avoid thinking about how married couples did this too. "You know - the kisses, the hand-holding... what are we?"

"Do we really need to be _anything_? I asked to court you, Rowan - I wouldn't ask you if I didn't like you. You do know what tends to follow a courtship, don't you? Engagement, marriage, children... And, while I've technically broken every rule of courting someone, such as no kissing, no touching - I would very much like to date you, Rowan." His voice sounded both annoyed and tired - he'd been thinking about this for a while, now. "I _like _you. A lot. The idea of spending my life you does not provoke any negative feeling. Rather, it fills me with... Pleasure. I think my parents know this too - it was wrong for a male and female to share a room if they weren't somehow related, but here we are."

"Kids! Tea time!" Freda's voice managed to pierce through Gregory's door and loud music. Rowan stood, stretching her back out and she gave Gregory a tiny smile.

"So we're... dating, now, right?" She asked, opening his door. His eyes widened slightly, before a wide smile brightened his face.

"If you'd want to?" His voice was hopeful. She pressed a small kiss to his lips, before bounding down the steps and into the dining room. "H - hey!" He followed behind, slower than she was. His footsteps were heavy and pounding - you couldn't miss him, despite his lithe stature. His shoulders spoke of a wiry boxer that he had yet to develop into.

She slid into the seat to the right of Tony, ruffling his hair. "Y'all right, sprog?"

"Not the spikes!" he admonished. "Sprog? What's that?"

"British slang for an unpleasant child," Anna told him, giving Rowan a smile. "Where'd you pick that up?"

Rowan shrugged, smiling when Gregory bounced into the room. "Slow." She tutted, shaking her head.

His face split into a wide grin. "Shut it," He laughed, sitting down beside Anna - opposite Rowan. "What are we on for tea? I'm starving."

"But you ate all of my food at lunch!" Tony and Rowan chorused, making Anna 'ooh' appreciatively.

"Don't you love it when siblings are so in tuned with each other?" Anna whispered to Rudolph, who shrugged uncaringly.

The adults carried the plates in, setting them out one by one. Rowan refused to acknowledge her dad when he gave her, her food - she murmured thank you to Freda, before starting to eat.

"Rowan kissed Gregory at school today - they were holding hands." Rudolph said, attempting to make conversation.

Tony choked on his lasagne.

_Well_, Rowan mused, hiding her beet-root red face in her food. _That could have gone better. _Gregory coughed. "You weren't there," he murmured. "We were getting a tonne of glares, so we decided to give them a show."

_That makes things worse. _

She grinned into her drink as she heard her dad splutter, "You're not staying in his room!"

"Now, Robert - we've spoken about this - " Freda tried to soothe the man, but it didn't seem to work.

"She's fifteen!" he said, aghast. Her eye twitched. _Oh, he won't... _"He's a growing boy who's been stuck as a teenager for God knows how long - " His flailing arms tried to convey how wrong it was.

"You know," Rowan said, taking a small sip from her glass. "Most parents wouldn't leave their thirteen year old daughter at the mercy of older, dangerous women because of a few failed suicide attempts - left her to fend for herself." Her nonchalance of the matter greatly confused Anna - suicide? Taking your own life? Surely she would be hesitant to talk about that? She took a quick look at Gregory, who looked as confused as herself.

She could hear her dad grinding his teeth and she smirked victoriously - but her eyes were shadowed, murky - dead. "Please stop trying to become a father because _you left me_ when I needed you most."

The atmosphere was awkward after that - Rowan silently congratulated herself and gave herself a mental pat on the back. She knew every button to press.

* * *

Rowan yawned, changing into her pyjamas. Gregory was on the other side of the room, changing into his. "Do you really want to know?" she asked, turning around.

"Well, yes. If you're comfortable talking about it."

She didn't want to talk about it, not really - that part of her life she had intended to lock to her chest, but Gregory had to know what he was getting into, right?

"I think the start of it all," she mused, sitting down on his bed. "Was when I turned nine. I'd just gone up another year and this new girl transferred into my school. We became quick friends from there on, but she wasn't really my friend. She kept saying little things - things like _you're not pretty _and _your hair is ugly _and, at nine years old, I was understandably hurt about it. So I started to change things. The way I dressed, how much I ate, how I did my hair... And she got worse from there on. When I turned eleven, she told me that she hated me and that nobody liked me." At some point, Gregory had come to sit next to her, while she lay down and stared at the roofing of his bed frame.

"So, I tried to kill myself. I survived, so I tried again. And again. And again. No matter how many psychiatrists I had, that my mom and dad paid for, nothing worked. They got me hospitalised, who then recommended a 'rehab' centre. I rejected that idea... violently. Broke the doctor's arm and broke my nurses collarbone. That got me moved to the dangerous ward, where I was kept high on drugs. Good behaviour got me moved to sector fifteen - which meant I could no longer be drugged and sedated. I had to live with the other women there who were very cruel - I don't really want to talk about them." She bit her lip. "I was finally sent home three months after my fourteenth birthday - my mom had baked this large cake with my name on it, and I pushed it to the floor. I was so_ angry_. She expected me to be the same girl I had been, despite the numerous suicide attempts, and I couldn't be that. I didn't _want _that. I wanted her to hurt like she hurt me."

She let out a little derisive laugh. "I had my last suicide attempt when I turned fifteen and damn near succeeded - my mom ended up punching me in the stomach, making me vomit everywhere. She saved my life." She smiled, lost in her thoughts. "And we moved to Scotland - where I met you. And you changed me." She turned into him. "I was doomed from the moment I met you."

"Doomed?" he asked, surprised. He found the edge to his duvet and pulled it over himself, covering the girl nestled in his side. "Doomed for what?"

"To like you." she admitted, turning the other way. "I'm going to sleep now."

* * *

**Okay, so a bit of angst is good for me. I'm sorry how it's all Rowan-centric but I think that's how it's going to be from here. **_Please don't hate me for that.  
:(((((_


	8. The Date

**Deriving from the movie with the description of the house. **_Saying that, though - I've derived too far from the canon to not twist the canon to my whims._

**_Please ignore the awkwardness of the kissing scene. Never kissed someone before so I don't know what you do. _0:-)**

* * *

Rowan let out a tiny moan as she woke up. She blinked the sleep from her eyes and gazed around in confusion. This wasn't her room, that she knew for certain - so whose room was it? She tried to move, but there was an arm wrapped tightly around her waist and a leg thrown over hers. She tried to see who it was, but all she saw was a partly shaven head and dark hair. _Gregory,_ her mind supplied helpfully.

She nodded to herself, finding glinting red letters on the wall. _7:12am_. She wriggled her way out of his tight grip and stumbled up to her feet - rubbing her eyes with balled up fists, she found her make-up bag and managed to find a bathroom. Her fringe was getting long, she noted as she was brushing her teeth. _I'll grow it out._

She made herself look _(hopefully) _attractive and changed into warm clothing. It was nearly October, bringing her closer to her sixteenth birthday towards the end of October, and the Scottish weather was horrible. It was either pouring it down with rain, drizzling or extremely bright - she hoped there would be snow as the snow in San Diego melted into nothing.

She pulled her jumper over her tank top and tugged on dark jeans, tucking her jumper into them. "Gregory..." she whispered, tip-toeing into the room and poking his shoulder. "Wake up..."

His eyes snapped open, a knife already in his hand. Her eyes bugged out at the sight of the knuckle duster knife but she chose not to comment on it. "It's - erm - time to wake up. School."

He grunted in reply, throwing the duvet away and dropping the knife on the bed. He itched his snail trail absent-mindedly, making Rowan flush prettily and stammer out something about socks.

He blinked in reply. "What're you doing in my room? Why do you need my socks, love?"

"You don't work in the morning, do you?" she replied smartly, pressing a kiss to his jawline and bounding out of the room.

His hand rose to where she'd kissed him and he smiled like a love-sick puppy.

* * *

Nobody was awake and that struck a chord of fear in her body. She felt watched.

But maybe that had something to do with the dozens of portraits lining the walls.

She hadn't really done much looking _(snooping)_ around since she'd arrived - "Come on, feet."

The front of the house was beautiful. It was very large, obviously, with a long road leading up to it. It was surrounded by towering brick walls, enclosing the house. Trees of varying sizes, with red, red leaves, lined the road and hid the house from view. After a sharp curve, you got to see the house. It had been built with light grey and dark grey bricks, with steps leading up to the dark front door. The windows were high arches, revealing nothing but darkness on the inside. It was very gloomy and very Victorian, with a large, towering rooftop.

The interior matched the exterior - the walls were brick, lined with portraits, with the occasional door. The kitchen was located off to the right of the front entrance, with another door leading through to the dining room. The dining room itself was gorgeous - there were no rooms above, so it had a large, sloping roof lined with low-light lights. The table was long and ran through the middle of the room - the mahogany wood gleamed. The seats were plush and made of red velvet.

The living room - or rather, the day room, was a complete contrast. There was a lot of light beaming in from the windows, which lit up the white and gold wallpaper. The seats were white leather, the wooden parts painted gold - they had plump blue pillows with white detailing placed on them. They had a large fireplace that the seating faced and she sat down, feeling entirely awkward and out-of-place in her scruffy jumper and jeans._  
_

"There you are," Gregory sighed. "I think I nearly had heart attack. Thought Rookery had gotten you."

She gave him an unfathomable look and patted the seat next to her. _I nearly gave him a heart attack? He just snuck up on me! _"Don't worry about me." He joined her, sitting with his legs wide apart and leaning back. "You have a very lovely home."

"Thank you." He positively beamed. "Oh - sorry about the knife. And pulling it on you."

She grinned. "I was so surprised. But one of my old friends used to keep a handgun under his pillow, so a knife is nothing. Try having a piece of cold metal between your eyes - _that _is terrifying."

They sat there in a comfortable silence. While they hadn't known each other for very long at all, the pair felt like they'd known each other for longer. She broke it when she leant back into his chest. "Do you want to play twenty questions?"

Gregory pursed his lips. "What's that?"

"It's kind of in the name," She smirked. "You ask me a question, I answer, I ask you a question, you answer - and so on and so forth. I'll start - when's your birthday?"

Gregory blinked. "My birthday is the second of October. When's yours?"

"October thirtieth. Do you have a middle name?" He seemed confused for a moment, wondering why she'd asked two questions and he'd asked none, until he realised.

"No. Do you?"

She grinned. "Marie. What kind of music do you like?"

He gave her a confused look and gestured to his band t-shirt. "Rock." She gestured for him to carry on. "Oh, all right. Erm, I guess some punk, some classical. Can you play any instruments?"

She shook her head. "Can you?"

"I'm rather talented at playing the piano," he admitted, a tell-tale heat creeping up his neck. "Although I prefer to play the violin. What's your favourite food?"

"Will you play for me sometime? I'm fond of Italian food."

"Sure. Will you go on a date with me at the weekend?"

Her cheeks reddened, and the rest of her face soon followed. She soon resembled a ripened tomato and, not trusting herself to squeak, nodded.

"Good." Gregory smiled smugly. "I guess we have to wake the brats up. Should we both do it, or?"

"I'll make them breakfast. Get everyone up - I'll make tea and toast."

Gregory nodded, stood, and offered her his hand. She took it and was surprised by how gently he pulled her up. "Come - I'll show you where everything is. It'll be easier for you to grill the toast instead of using the toaster, since we only have four slots."

She hummed her agreement and found several toast racks, setting them out on the marble side while boiling the kettle. "Off you go."

Ten minutes later, she heard the first dregs of life - Frederick, walking down the stairs in a dark suit, coughing. She gave him a warm smile, "What do you drink? Coffee, tea?"

"Black coffee, one sugar," he grumbled, taking a slice of toast from her toast tower. "Mug with blue rim." With those kind parting words, he stalked out. _Overgrown bat._

She made him his drink and followed him through to the dining table, placing it at the head of the table. He grunted in reply; she took it as a thank you.

* * *

The weekend came quicker than she imagined. On the very last day of September, the sky was drizzling as it normally did, she was going on her first real date. Her _first_ real _date_. Her heart was pounding in her throat.

What if she messed up? Were there certain rules for dates? Did she have to wear a dress? Where were they going? Formal, smart-casual, or informal? How should she style her hair? What type of food did she have? Did she have salad, or could she eat a burger? Did she skip dessert, or have a piece of chocolate cake?

Anna let out a giggle from the doorway while Rowan tore apart Gregory's room. "Go brush your hair out into a middle parting, twirl your fringe back into your hair and clip those pieces down. Curl your hair. I'll sort out what you'll be wearing and I'll even tell you where you're going." Anna's voice sounded entirely too pleased - Anna had inched to practice her make-up skills on the girl when she had first laid her eyes on the older girls face.

"You are a _life-saver_!" Rowan gasped out, rummaging around the mess she'd made to find her hair straighteners. "Big, bouncy curls or tight ones?"

"Big bouncing curls. You're going to an Italian restaurant in the town square, so you're not too far from home - but you're not going to wear _any_ light colours. I've seen how you eat." Anna sniffed disdainfully. "And in this weather, you're not wearing a dress or skirt. That rules out a _lot _of your clothing!"

Rowan grinned in amusement. "Now do you see my problem?" Rowan jumped when her straighteners beeped - she brushed her hair back and split it down the middle, looped her fringe and pinned it all back. She began to curl her hair so that the curls grouped together and spiralled out from her face.

"Oh, this is lovely..." She occasionally heard Anna mumble. "Oh, I can see you in this!" Anna chirped, removing a sheer black ruffled blouse from one of the drawers. "But, what can go underneath? Oh, that's nice - okay, what trousers do you have?"

Rowan gazed at her, face deadpan. "Jeans."

"I can see why you've never been on a date before." Rowan choked on her own spit. "I suppose you should count yourself lucky that you have excellent taste in jeans."

What a backhanded compliment. "I think these will be your best bet." Rowan continued curling her hair, her eyes flickering to look at Anna in the mirror. "And some nice black boots."

"I don't want to look like a whore!" Rowan complained, although inwardly she was bouncing in excitement. "How're you going to fix me up?"

Anna blinked in confusion at her choice of words. "Fix you up?"

"My make-up... make me pretty?"

"Oh!" Anna was still puzzled by her chosen words but hoped she covered it well. "Well - lightly. Dusty pink. Fluttery eyes."

Now it was Rowan's turn to be confused by the wording. "Well, all right. Whatever's best."

By the end of it all, she felt like a doll with gorgeous hair - and a bit baffled. She wore simple clothing that she would probably wear at school, but she looked... pretty. Unlike herself.

Gregory knocked on his bedroom door in apprehension. "Are you nearly done, girls?"

"Yeah!" Anna beamed, wrapping a silver chain around Rowan's wrist. "For good luck," Anna whispered. "I hope Rookery doesn't date crash."

Rowan's smile threatened to split her face in two. She quickly found a black clutch purse and pressed her money down, past her crucifix, lighter and a string of rosary beads. "Those are interesting items for a woman to be walking around with." Anna peered into her purse. Rowan snapped it shut with a nasty smile.

"Just for when Rookery date crashes."

* * *

Rookery didn't date crash.

Their parents did.

"Oh wow." Gregory couldn't help but laugh at Rowan's tone. She had begun to develop a pout on her pretty pink lips when she saw her mother's blonde hair and Frederick's intimidating height. "How _embarrassing. _I wonder if throwing the crucifix at them will make them leave."

"I don't think that'll happen." Gregory kept his voice low, leaning forward. "How close do you think they'll get?"

"I reckon they'll stay at the edges of the room. Mom won't want to scare us off and I'm pretty sure if your dad disagreed, she could glare him into submission."

Rowan snorted when she saw her mom pull out the famous 'I won't take your shit,' glare. "Told you." Rowan perked up, making Dottie and Frederick stare - she gave them a cheeky wave and a smile, before returning her attention to Gregory.

"I'm hungry," Gregory complained, leaning back in his chair. "When will the food get here?"

"In about two seconds," sad Rowan dryly, greeting their nervous waitress with a smile. "Thank you."

"Um - your parents," She gave the two a confused look, although her gaze lingered on Gregory for a second too long. "Said you're allowed one alcoholic drink with your meal, so long as you buy their drinks. So... um... I mean - do you want to?"

"Please may I have a Malibu and orange juice, please? Separate." Rowan smiled politely.

"Red wine, please."

Rowan looked down at her meal and began to spear the green beans on her fork. Gregory smirked to himself, sipping his coke with a fond look in his eyes.

* * *

Dottie watched the pair and her mind was reeling. Rowan had never smiled so much as she had since she'd met Gregory and, despite the fact that he was the best thing to happen to her baby girl in all of her short years, she felt inexplicably... _jealous_. Did that make her a bad mother?

"They look good together." Frederick's voice was gruff with emotion - his face betrayed nothing, but his eyes were stormy and his throat felt constricted. He felt proud. "Gregory hasn't smiled or laughed in well over six hundred years."

Dottie smiled at Frederick. "Neither has Rowan. Well, not six hundred years - but even as a baby, she rarely laughed. We thought she was autistic for a long time - she didn't want to associate with other children or play with toys. And then when I fell pregnant with Tony, I thought it would only get worse. But she got better."

"Despite their tumultuous personalities, they're good together. She's the right kind of chaos to his own chaos. And, I assume, it's the same?"

Dottie nodded. "She was loud and arrogant, but now... She's rather quiet. What you saw at the dinner table the other evening was _nothing _on how bad she could be. She knows every button to press to make Bob angry, but she only tapped on them then. I know she seemed bad," Disregarding Frederick's denials, she carried on. "But normally one of them has to leave the house for a while."

The pair sat there, sipping their rosé wine, eyes on their children, before something dawned on Dottie. "Five hundred years? I thought you were only three hundred and something?"

Frederick smiled. "We lost the stone three hundred years ago," he corrected. "However, we have been vampires for over seven hundred years."

"My baby girl is dating someone who is _seven hundred years old?!_"

* * *

"They're watching us," Gregory whispered, wiping his mouth with the tips of his fingers. "I feel awkward."

"They've done it for ten minutes now." Rowan whispered back, smiling shyly at her hands. "It's starting to piss me off. They're drinking a lot of wine as well - I can just _see_ my mom falling down on the cobbles outside."

Gregory let out a quiet bark of laughter. "I think my father will be right next to her."

The pair of them were lightly flushed, talking about something in hushed tones. Dottie's eyes occasionally wandered over to Rowan as they spoke, leading to her belief that they were discussing _them_.

"Well, I'll go get the bill," Gregory sighed, finishing his drink. "Be back in a minute."

Rowan found her purse and replaced the silver chain around her wrist with the string of rosary beads - she wrapped them around until the cross hung over he fingers. Gregory came back over with a smile. "Shall we leave, my lady?"

"But I haven't paid yet..." she trailed off in confusion.

"I've paid. I _am _a gentleman, you know - born and raised." His eyes wandered over to their parents and then flickered outside. "Come, my love - the night is starting to fall."

"B - but," she stammered. "I feel horrible doing that to you!"

"Don't feel horrible - I already knew I would do it for you. After all, a date isn't a date if you pay for yourself, is it?"

"Erm - okay, but the next date I'm paying for, okay?"

Gregory smiled happily - _next_ date, she said. _Next_. "There'll be a next time?"

Did he sound too hopeful?

She laughed and pressed a tiny kiss to his mouth. "Of course."

He positively _beamed_ and took her hand in his own, walking outside. Dottie nudged Frederick and nodded her head outside. "They're on the move; c'mon, can't be on their own."

"After you, my lady."

* * *

The walk up to the Sackville-Bagg home was quiet. Gregory and Rowan were in front of Dottie and Frederick, holding hands. The sky was gloomy, threatening a heavy downpour of rain, making Rowan extremely glad they were nearly there.

They hadn't quite escaped the rain - it started to rain when they were nearing the curve, so of course Rowan began to run. "I'm not letting my hair get ruined!" she yelled, stumbling over stones and rocks alike. Gregory laughed loudly and ran too, to keep up with her.

Rowan heard her mother shriek and laughed, kicking off her muddy shoes and stepping into the warmth of the Sackville-Bagg home. Gregory pressed a kiss to her mouth, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing her flush to his chest.

"Get a room!" Tony made retching noises, hands at his throat, while Anna smiled wistfully. The pair parted, Gregory's hands staying firmly on her waist.

"You'll understand when you grow up," Rowan promised, her face flushed. "Just wait until you hit puberty."

"Puberty?" Tony muttered, rolling the word around on his tongue. "What's that?"

"Puberty is when you stop thinking girls have cooties." Rowan said playfully, tugging on Gregory's hand to let go. "C'mon, brat. Let's play a game."

"A game?" Rudolph perked up, appearing from the kitchen. "What type of game?" He let out an excited noise. "Can we play hide and seek? It should be so much better because we can't track each others scents!"

_Is he okay?_ Rowan wanted to ask, but kept her thoughts to herself. "Um - sure. Can I get changed, quickly?"

Rudolph grinned widely, revealing two dimples. "Sure. But you're on first."

"I need to get changed too," Gregory murmured. "So how about we play in teams? Rowan and I - and you three together. Go hide now - you have five minutes to find the best hiding place possible - but it has to fit _all_ three of you."

The trio all out similar noises of agreement and scattered - the pair rushed to Gregory's bedroom. Rowan brushed out her hair and tied it back into a high bun, changing into warm pyjamas. Gregory changed into dark grey bottoms and a tight, light grey shirt. "Shall we go find them, my dear?"

Rowan gave him a grin. "Do we have to? Can't they just tire themselves out wherever they're hiding?"

"As much as I like that thought, I believe Anna would kill me if she knew we'd done that on her." Gregory sighed, tying his hair into a ponytail.

"Do you think she's feeling a little dejected about Tony?" Rowan asked before she could stop herself, opening his bedroom door. "She's grown up in her time as a vampire. Tony's nine years old."

"I think so." Gregory confessed, his voice low. "I can't help but feel like she's losing her infatuation for him. Where do you think they'll be?"

"It would be so much easier if he wasn't nine," she sighed. "Um - knowing Tony, he'll go high. What about Rudolph and Anna?"

"They're more likely to go outside, but given the circumstances I shan't imagine they would be. Let's try the top floor and work our way down."

Tony had, much like Rowan thought, made everyone go upstairs. Tony was hiding behind a thick curtain, Anna under a chaise, Rudolph behind the door. "Count to one hundred." Gregory ordered, taking Rowan's hand and tugging her out of the room. "What we're going to do is go to the bathroom and move around, to make it harder for them."

Rowan giggled in agreement, sliding in sideways to an en suite bathroom. The door itself was slightly ajar, making it easier for them to hide. "Where should we go?" she whispered.

"Bathtub," Gregory whispered back. Rowan got in first, hearing the light patter of feet go past the bedroom door. "Move your legs apart so that I lie on top of you."

Rowan flushed, hoping that Gregory couldn't see her red face, and did as he requested. He lowered himself down, holding himself up so that their noses were touching. "Why're you blushing?" he whispered, his breath warm.

"No reason," she squeaked. "Um - they've passed us, so should we move?"

He lowered himself further, so that their lips were touching. "No. They'll come back." One hand moved so that it was lying on her ribcage, lying on the cup of her bra.

He kissed her properly, the other remaining hand going behind her neck and tilting her up towards him. She pressed back against him, humming slightly when his teeth lightly grazed her lip. He pulled back, blinking. "Was that okay?" he asked nervously.

She let out a tiny laugh and moved her body up, pressing her lips against his. She moved her arms up and pulled him down, his hands soft on her body. He probed her lower lip gently with his tongue and soon they were in a rough, bruising battle for dominance. He won, as she expected, but he was the one pulling away for a breath.

"I think they've gone now." Rowan said cheekily. "C'mon. Let's move."

He got up, glad he had chosen to wear baggy trousers. They slide out of the door and listened for any feet. Hearing none, they began to move, sticking to the shadows.

"Are you sure you haven't seen them?" Gregory heard Tony's shrill voice and smirked, gesturing to the trio. Bob held his hands up in surrender.

"Haven't seen them. Heard them come in and that's it." Bob caught Gregory's eye and winked.

Tony knew that look and with a loud screech, he bolted up the stairs. Gregory felt a rough tug on his shirt and Rowan giggled silently, pulling him into the en suite bathroom again. Tony skidded on the floor. "Come out! We're bored!"

Anna's voice echoed after his, "Rowan, can I make you look like a princess?"

Gregory kissed Rowan again to muffle her laughter, nipping her lip again and again. Her hands wound into his hair and she kissed back just as furiously, before ducking out of his grip and leaving their hiding place. She gave the angry trio a brilliant smile, eyes twinkling. "You didn't look very hard, did you?"

"We did! Are you seriously saying you stayed in the bathroom?" Rudolph asked, before pausing. "We didn't check any bathrooms."

"I'm hungry." Anna complained, looking at Rowan with bright eyes. "Can we have some ice cream?"

Rowan shrugged. "Sure. Gregory? You coming?" She heard a grunt in reply and the teenager in question left the bedroom.

His lips were in a similar condition to her own - swollen and red - and there was an awkwardness to his walk. She grinned in wicked amusement. "I'll bring you a bowl up, then."

"That'd be nice. I'll be in our room." He stalked away.

She watched him with a fond smile, before her attention snapped back to Rudolph. "_Our_ room, aye?" Rudolph laughed to himself - Anna was grinning in happiness, while Tony made more retching noises.

She began to walk in the direction of the kitchen. "I liked you better when you were a gentleman. Now you're just cheeky."

"I am a gentleman!" His voice was filled with outrage.

She removed several bowls from the cupboard and filled them with ice cream, ignoring her father. "I'm sorry, Rowan." he sighed. "I'm stressed. The workload has doubled since Lord McAshton died and then that happened... I just snapped. I'm sorry."

"It's fine." Her tone suggested that it _wasn't_ fine, but he didn't press the matter.

"So, did you have fun on your date?"

She gave him points for trying. "It was fine. Although, I wasn't impressed when mom showed up." She smiled slightly. "She enjoys expensive wine."

Anna appeared at her side, making Rowan jump slightly - she handed the girl two bowls, juggling the other three in her hands. She gave one to Tony, who let out a happy noise of excitement, before she left to Gregory's bedroom. She walked very slowly, nudging the door open with her foot and placing his bowl of ice cream on the floor.

He left the bathroom, tower hanging low around his waist. She blinked, staring a bead of water that left his hair and trailed down to his front. He wasn't overly muscled, if she was honest - but his body was toned and defined. "Hi."

"Hello," he replied. "Could you look away?"

"Oh - erm, of course - yeah."

She spun on the bed, breath catching as the sound of the towel hitting the floor resounded through her mind. "What do you want for your birthday?" she asked, her mind wandering from the current situation.

"I don't really... want anything..." She heard a muffled curse and something hitting the floor.

"But it's your first birthday as a human! You're finally ageing again!" she said hotly, feeling unusually strong on the subject.

"I really don't _want _ anything. But I could do with some new cuff links, or maybe a new suit..."

She grinned. "Thank you."

They were silent for a long while. His ice cream was melting, but he couldn't seem to find what he wanted. "Do you... miss being a vampire?" she asked, feeling ridiculously shy.

He hummed in response. "I miss... the freedom of flying. But at the same time, I don't miss the constant anger I felt," his voice was amused. "Nor the constant urge I felt to feed from you. I don't miss the never-ending darkness, nor the burn in my throat to drink human blood. I think the _worst _thing was that I was forever stuck in puberty."

"Yeah... that sounds pretty shitty." She laughed. "What about the strength? Indestructibility?"

"Too much pressure and I could have hurt you. And we're not - we _weren't_ indestructible. The amount of times Anna or Rudolph befriended a human and sent us flying into danger..." He sighed. "That's why I was, initially, so furious about Tony and yourself invading our territory. I had seen it happen too many times before and was reproachful. You can turn around now."

She turned, smiling softly. "You were _rightfully _reproachful. I guess we spelled doom to you, right?"

Gregory snorted. "That was an understatement. Especially when I met _you_. The infatuation was there from the moment I lay eyes on you - your eyes were bright, torn between fight or flight - you chose to put your brother before yourself, which I respected. You were hysterical with the thought that you were going to die - your hair was around you like a glowing halo and I had the overwhelming urge to touch it. And then of course, Rudolph pushed me away from you."

Gregory grabbed his bowl of ice cream from the floor and sat next to the girl on his bed, leaning back into his pillows. "And then you went to kick my dad in the balls - which would have been _hilarious_ to see - and I had the uphold the 'family' image we had going on. So, I pulled you away."

"You were absolutely freezing and you had arms like steel," she grumbled. "I don't think you realise how terrified you made me."

He laughed, pulled her down to him with his feet. "I felt so much respect for you - I could have ripped your throat out then and there but you still wanted to save your brother. I _admired_ you for a short while. Anna started flirting with your brother, didn't she?"

Rowan laughed, her chest bouncing. Gregory looked away with a blush on his cheeks.

"I let you go and Tony ran off screaming - and you went to _threaten_ my father!" He laughed. "Of course, Anna fell in love with you for that, and then you tried to save us by warning us about Rookery. You pushed Anna down - thank you for trying to save me, of course - " There was a sarcastic bite to his words that made her grin viciously.

"You shouldn't have been such a dick to me."

"_And then _I tried to pull you into the crypt, you ran off and tried to blind Rookery. Utmost respect for you at that point. And I got to carry a pretty girl on my back, which was an added bonus - who seemed to be interested in me, from the stare you gave me. I didn't want to let you go, so I didn't."_  
_

She shifted, settling into his chest.

"You were extremely interesting," he finished. "On the surface, you seemed superficial with an overprotective streak. I wanted to find out more. And then you had your little breakdown, and I wanted to know _more_ and _more_."

Rowan smiled. "I'm very glad you did. You changed me a lot. Before... My reasons to live were the reasons to die. But now? My reasons to live are vastly different to my reasons to die."

His grip tightened around her.

* * *

"Hello, Rowan." The Fae woman greeted, her appearance haggard. "You have six days until Rookery finds out where you are."

Rowan blinked. "How do you know? Do you know what's happening to me?"

"I know many things. I know every possible outcome to the end of Rookery - and I know every possible outcome in the event of your own death. Two are clear from either situation - one, you are turned and kill Rookery, before turning both your family and the Sackville-Baggs. Two, Gregory Sackville-Bagg is turned and drains you. The others are not as sure to happen. As for what is happening to _you _- you are become stronger, more resilient and quicker in order for you to win against Rookery. If you manage to win and survive as a human, these gifts will be stripped away from you and you will be normal once again. If you die, or are turned, they will be removed but you will have prominent gold markings to signify your failure. The markings will go away when you are no longer a vampire."

Rowan blinked again. "Are they... close to definite?"

"Very close to definite," the woman confirmed, sighing heavily. "I pray for the first option. We can speed the comet Attamon by six years - so you would live six years as a vampire. Not a bad price to pay, hm?"

Rowan disagreed, but in her chest she knew it was the best option. "Do you - " She licked her lips. "How do they take it?"

The Fae smiled a weak smile. "Badly, at first. Your parents, mostly. They adapt. The promise of six years makes them feel better. Now - you are not permitted to tell anyone."

The Fae knew the next moment would be crucial - if she told the boy, the possibility of two was significantly lowered. But did she love the human boy enough to tell him? Could she confess to herself that she had loved the boy the moment she met him?

* * *

Rowan shot up, her chest pounding in her chest. "Gregory," she whispered. "Gregory, in six days Rookery will find me."

His eyes snapped open, filled with sleep. "What?" he muttered groggily, sitting up.

"In six days, Rookery will find me. We must prepare..." she trailed off.

"How do you know?" He sighed, leaning back into the warmth of his duvet. "What are we going to do?"

"I dreamt it - a woman told me. I don't know," Her eyes began to water as she gazed at his face - the curve of his jaw, the line of his cheekbones. "I - I..." She couldn't help the tears that started to roll down her face. She let out a tiny squeak and buried her face into her hands, muffling her sobs. "I'm so sorry..."

He pulled her down to his chest, wrapping his arms around her. "Don't be ashamed to cry, love." He soothed, stroking the top of her head. "Never be ashamed to cry."

She seemed to cry harder - huge, juddering sobs that shook her small frame, muffled by his chest.

When she had finally stopped crying, she took a deep, steadying breath. "Don't tell anyone," she muttered, her voice shaking. "But there are two main possible outcomes to Rookery finding us. One, everyone gets turned. Two, someone else gets turned and kills me. Which is the worst possible outcome?"

"The second," he said immediately. "In the first one, nobody dies. Everyone is together and, besides, we still have the stone. We can turn to humans again in three-hundred years; that's not long at all."

"But is it worth it?" she asked, her voice soft. "To spend so long as a vampire - for the sake of one person?"

"It will always be worth it," he whispered. "_You _are worth it."

She wanted to doubt him, but her love for him swelled in her chest.

* * *

**;_;**

**So have I just revealed the entire outcome to the story**

**or will I put a spanner in the works**

_Hint - it's the latter option._


	9. Birthday Massacre

**_Apparently Frederick's name is spelt Fredrick. Meh, oh well. I prefer Frederick - that extra 'e' makes me all tingly inside._**

* * *

Bob agreed that Rowan was worth it. So did Dottie. Freda and Frederick too. In fact, the only one who seemed to be against it was Rudolph - whose voice was changing with the sign of puberty.

Rowan followed him to his bedroom and pulled him into a hug. "That's not the only option," she told him with a smile. "There are other ways."

"I don't - I don't want to be like Gregory was..." he stammered, his head buried in her shoulder. "He was so scary..."

"I know he was, precious. I know he was." she soothed him, carding her hand through his short dark hair. "Now, on a more pressing note, what are you getting him for his birthday?"

He laughed. "I don't know; what are you getting him?"

"Probably a posh fountain pen or cuff links."

He pulled his head from her neck to look at her. "What type of fountain pen? Should I get him a journal?"

"A... fountain pen? Crimson and gold-plated? Silver? Blue? You can if you want - but he also says he wants a suit?"

"Mother and father can get him the suit, Anna will get the cuff links, I'll get him a journal and you can get him a fountain pen!" Rudolph beamed. "Oh, he'll have the best birthday. Will your parents be getting him anything?"

"Probably just money," she shrugged. "They don't know him - well, anyone - that well."

* * *

Rowan had nearly finished her English homework - annotating her Lord of the Flies book - when she found her drawing. It was of Gregory, with dark, shadowed eyes and his hair gleaming in the moonlight. She realised, with a slight shock, that this was where her infatuation began with him.

She found her easel and a fresh canvas board. She began to repeat the sketch with a charcoal pencil, exaggerating the darkness of his eyes and his sunken cheeks, before picking up a tiny brush and painting a thin ring of red and filling it in. She added extra detailing to his face in paint, such as the light smattering of freckles across his nose, before painting it all.

By the time she was done, the sun was high in the sky but, surprisingly, nobody had come to find her. She pushed away the brief sting of hurt as she knew her paint smelt very... foul and permeated the air.

She placed the painting on her easel, ensuring that it was propped up correctly and changed into something warm.

The Scottish cold was now seeping through the grey stones of the Sackville-Bagg home and Rowan felt it something chronic. Her toes were always cold and her hands shook with every gust of wind that battered the house.

It had been a day since her... dream? Vision? Alternate reality visit? Dimension hop? _Who knew? _And it hurt her to know that it was going to happen and the outcome wouldn't be the one she so desperate desired - where Rookery died or was perhaps knocked on the head and acquired amnesia - and, while she didn't begrudge the thought of her death, she didn't want her family to suffer any more. She was tired of causing them pain; what did it achieve? Her mother loved her, her father loved her - and Tony was her rock.

She didn't want to die.

She brushed out her hair and tied it up into a high bun, slipping into some warm boots and finding her purse. She hung the rosary beads around her neck and slipped two silver crosses into her ears.

The sun was still glinting through the clouds, casting a light hue over the trees. The girl left the room, shouting - "Rudolph - Anna! C'mon - we're going out!"

Gregory was at her side immediately, his eyes dark and worried. "Why are you going out now?" he whispered in slight annoyance. "It will be dark soon - it's going dark at four o'clock now."

"We'll be fine." She smiled charmingly, fluttering her eyes. "We just have some... last-minute shopping to do."

His eyes widened in understanding and he shook his head. "I don't want anything." he said instantly, cursing when his siblings appeared at her side, Tony tucked into Rudolph's side. He groaned loudly and stormed away to the sound of her loud laughter.

The walk to the town square was quiet. The wind rattled her chest and she didn't want to speak - but she had to lay down some ground rules. "Right - no leaving my side. At all. Not many shops will be open because it's a Sunday, but you still can't leave my side. In the shop, don't speak to strangers. Don't even look at them. Find what you want, call me over, and we'll go pay. I don't think you need the 'stranger danger' talk, but paedophiles don't care how loud you scream. If they want you, they'll get you - "

Tony cut her speech off with a loud groan. "And you'll be able to kick their asses, of course. Save us the rant, Row."

Her eyebrow noticeably twitched. "Well if they take you, Tony, they'll be begging us to take you back - I'm more concerned about Rudolph and Anna." She sighed for good measure and took Anna's hand in her own.

Anna squeezed her hand tightly, giving her a tiny smile. Rowan was... Shocked, by the affection the little girl seemed to hold for her in her eyes. _Who do you see when you look at me? _She wondered, leading them into a shop with dusty windows and a brown sign reading, "All Things Beautiful". Rowan nearly leapt from excitement when she saw the shiny things.

They had everything they needed. Rowan quickly found a silver, very shiny - which made her extremely happy - fountain pen with a gold and chrome plated nib. She spun it open and found an ink converter, which was useful.

They had paid and left within ten minutes. "Anyone hungry?" Rowan asked, eyeing a Fish and Chip Shop. It smelt nice and there was no queue, which only made it more appetising.

"That depends. Are you paying?" Tony asked cheekily. Her eyebrow twitched.

"Stop acting like a little _shit stain _in front of Rudolph and Anna." She snapped before biting her lip regretfully.

He paled and shook his head. "That's not what I'm doing - not _Rudolph!_ - or - "

She knew what type of "Rudolph" that was. A wicked smile curved on her lips. "Tony and Anna, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G..." she whispered into his ear, kneeling.

His blushing face reared back. "Don't tell anyone Rowan!"

She cackled. "Oh, this is _brilliant_. C'mon, kids. Fish and chips are waiting."

She wrapped their presents up for them - after her teasing, Tony was ignoring her while Rudolph kept pestering her about one thing or another. She didn't care much.

* * *

Monday dawned bright and early - Rowan woke Gregory up with a fresh, minty kiss. "Get up, sleepy head. Get ready and then presents!"

He grumbled and moved around the room, half-asleep.

She laughed to herself, picked up her two neatly wrapped presents and left, knocking on the room the three children shared before moving on into the kitchen. Freda was already awake, a mug of steaming coffee held in between her delicate hands. "Hello, dear." Freda greeted, giving her a motherly smile. "The kettle is recently boiled - would you like me to make you a cup of coffee? Tea?"

"No thank you," Rowan paused. "What did you get Gregory for his birthday?" she whispered, knowing her boyfriend was awake.

Freda had a knowing twinkle in her eye. "He has a nice new suit for the party we're all going to tonight. I do hope you have something crimson to match his tie."

"I think I have a few... What type of party?"

"It's a very formal birthday party, held at my cousins mansion in Yorkshire." Frederick entered the room, his voice making Rowan jump. "Now, it's a long drive, so you will be pulled out of lessons at lunch time. Gregory informs me that you have Biology, English Literature and Mathematics, which are all vital lessons that cannot be missed. We will stay the night and return home the following day after everyone has eaten lunch."

Rowan nodded after overcoming her minor heart attack. Frederick laughed heartily, pressing a kiss to Freda's nose and taking something from behind her. He turned away with a piece of toast. "Come - sit in the living room with me. Gregory will be downstairs in a moment and he must open his presents before we have to leave."

Rowan followed behind dutifully, still holding the presents. She placed them on the table and settled into the plush seats, wishing she had accepted the offer of a warm beverage as the Scottish wind rattled her bones _again_. It was insane! It was absolutely freezing!

She was broken from her inner grumbles when her boyfriend threw himself down on her. She let out a tiny scream, silenced by lips on her own. "Good morning." he greeted when he pulled away, rolling to his side and shifting around on the seats.

"Good morning birthday boy!" she chirped, her eyes crinkling in amusement. "First birthday where you've aged, right?"

"Right," He let out a bark of laughter. "The only way this could be ruined is if there's some party we're going to." he joked.

_Alert, alert! Abort mission! Get out of there! _Her mind screamed, but she only cracked a weak smile and laughed. "Aha - yeah..."

Gregory gave her a look. _I know_, he thought, hoping the look would convey it. _Trying to freak my dad out. _He winked for good measure. Her eyes widened in understanding, brightening in amusement. He gave her another kiss.

The three children stumbled into the room, followed by Dottie and Bob. Freda trailed behind, sitting down next to Frederick.

"Go on then." Rudolph growled, his eyes dark with sleep. "Open them. Enjoy."

_Is every male in this family bad in the morning? _Rowan grinned in amusement at the thought.

Gregory opened the cards first - and did he have a lot to go through. "Oh, aunt Freya - and cousin Jane. Annie, Louise, Paige, Brittany... Oh, Jimmy! How much money?" He gasped every so often, adding note after note to the pile on the table. "Grandpapa sends his regards, mother, father."

He finished the cards, ending on Dottie and Bob. They had given him fifty pounds with two twenties and one ten. "So that makes... Four hundred and ninety pounds."

Rowan's eyes bugged out. "Why don't we have big family?!" Tony and Rowan chorused, mimicking each other in their movements - their right hand flicking out and their left hand flying up in the universal sign of exasperation. Anna cheered at how in sync they were, making them realise what they'd done and huffing petulantly. "Stop copying me!" "No - you stop!"

Bob shrugged, gesturing for Gregory to carry on.

Gregory smiled lopsidedly, going for the biggest box on the table. He pulled the short pieces of ribbon and unravelled the box, lifting the lid. It revealed a dark suit, sharply pressed that screamed money. "Thank you mother, father." He stood, wrapping his arms around his mother and father. Frederick was shocked but recovered well, pressing a free hand on his back.

"You're welcome, son."

"Me next!" Rudolph chirped, seemingly cheerier than he was ten minutes prior. "And then Rowan."

Gregory reached for the red present, unfolding the wrapping carefully. He could smell the leather before he had removed the last layer of wrapping and a black journal was removed, with crisp pages and a small green bookmark. "Thank you, Rudolph."

Rudolph pointed to the small, long box that sat on the table. "You _have _to open that next."

Gregory did as Rudolph said, smiling slightly at the long box. He lifted the lid and removed the pen that glinted in the light. "It's gorgeous."

_What a strange way to describe a pen,_ Rowan mused, but as his kiss made her stomach clench, she found that she didn't mind.

He finished unwrapping the rest of the presents - including Anna's cuff links and many other trinkets from Tony (who used Rowan's money) and their parents.

* * *

School was interesting - the first lesson was Mathematics.

Oh how Rowan hated Maths. The first reason was that Gregory was sat on the opposite side of the room to her. The second reason was she was sat next to some stupid Scottish _bitch_ who took pleasure in thickening her accent _just_ for the American. The third reason was that the aforementioned stupid Scottish bitch also seemed to hate Rowan immensely and knocked her things to the floor or stuck her foot/bag in her way so that she'd trip.

And, when Rowan was called to the front to solve a question using surds and tripped over the Scottish bitches foot, her mind snapped back to the hospital and she began to speak. "What the _fuck _is your problem you _pathetic _Scottish bitch?!"

The girl gave as good as she got, Rowan grudgingly admitted. The Scottish bitch stood up, her chair toppling, and she began to yell something about 'school hierarchy'. "Do I _look_ like I give a _fuck _about your hierarchy?" Rowan snarled.

The Scottish bitch - Rowan tried to see her book to find out her name, to no avail - _pushed_ her. Pushed _her_. _Oh **fuck** no. _Rowan let out a growl and pushed back harder, sending the girl flying to her arse. The girl shot up and landed a nasty hit on Rowan's stomach - Rowan stumbled and brought her fist back, ready to let it fly, but Gregory's arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her away. "Please don't." he breathed into her ear, tightening his grip. "I don't think the stupid chit is worth it."

"Chit?" Rowan asked dumbly, turning around in his grip. "What does that even mean?"

Rowan groaned in pain as her stomach finally caught up with the hit and protested. She let out a loud cough that turned into a dry heave, saliva dripping from her mouth and spiralling down to the floor. Gregory let go of her for a moment, sitting her down on a free chair and collecting their belongings. "I'm going to the medical room." He told his teacher.

He pulled his girlfriend into his arms, one arm held firmly beneath her legs and the other supporting her back. She giggled slightly as he carried her along. "I'm not that badly injured, you know. I can walk."

"You're mine," He grinned in amusement. "I can carry you when I want. And, if it means we get out of school earlier, then you will pretend to be injured worse than you are and I'll have a good birthday."

* * *

Bob picked them up, giving Rowan a concerned, parental glance, before leaving them at the Sackville-Bagg home and leaving for work again. "The whole house to ourselves." Gregory muttered, his cheeks flushing at the thought. He eyed his girlfriend and grinned lecherously, opening the door and pushing her in.

"Well..." Rowan hummed thoughtfully. "At least until half eleven. We were getting pulled out of school at lunch time. And then we're going to Yorkshire for your birthday party."

"Yorkshire?" His voice sounded surprised as he locked the door. "That's where my grandparents - on my mother's side - live. I reckon the entire family will be there."

"Whole family?" Rowan paled. "I don't think I can do this."

"Why?" he asked, surprised. "You're normally so confident... When you first met my father, you went to kick him in the knackers!"

His unusual word choice - _knackers? _Made her forget her worry. "What the _fuck_ are knackers?"

Gregory gave her a stare. "What do you mean - what are knackers? How do you not know what knackers are?"

"I'm American! Land of the free! Bald eagle! I don't know English slang!" She laughed, throwing her hands into the air.

"Bollocks. Balls. Blue ball sack. Testes." He gave her a cheeky grin. "And you _know_ he has blue balls."

She flushed. "Don't talk about your dad that way! God," She retched. "That's like thinking of your parents having sex!"

He paused, before a disgusted look came over his face. "Oh, god. That's disgusting. Fuck no. Oh..." He trailed off. "That's just not nice. Although - is the fountain pen my only present?" He fluttered his eyes, his lips curved into a wicked smirk.

"No, actually. Come with me." Rowan grabbed his hand and led them to his bedroom, where his smirk widened. "Um... I don't know if you'll like it," she confessed, laughing. She dropped his hands and handed him a flat package, wrapped with a light blue ribbon. "Open it."

His smirk faded into a warm smile and he pulled the ribbon, loosening the packaging. The scent of paint hit his nose and he flipped the canvas over, his breath leaving him in a sudden whoosh as he stared at himself. His fingers gently traced the curve of the moon. "This is... me?" he breathed, staring at piercing crimson eyes lined with darkness. "This is how you saw me?"

She smiled nervously, handing him the original drawing. "It was when Rudolph tormented the McAshton boys. You looked so beautiful in the moonlight... I hadn't really felt the urge to draw you until you were lying next to me in my bed." Her tone was nostalgic. "So... Do you like it?"

He placed the painting on his chest of drawers, wrapping his arms around Rowan's waist. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her nose - her hands rose and she tugged harshly on his head, pulling him backwards. The backs of her legs hit the bed the moment his lips met hers.

* * *

They had done... _it_. It - it. That kind of 'it'. It hurt, to start with, and there was a crimson stain on the sheets - but she was no longer a virgin, losing it to someone who she cared about immensely, and the pain eventually subsided. "Happy birthday," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his chin. "Now, I'm going to shower and _you_ are going to burn your bed sheets."

His laugh followed her into the bathroom.

She showered quickly, anxiety bubbling in her chest. She didn't like meeting new people - new people who she knew would judge her. The only crimson, formal dress she owned fitted firmly to her breasts and clung down her body until her thighs, where it then flared out in a fish tail design - she thought of her wedged heels and hoped she'd look acceptable.

Gazing at her reflection only seemed to increase her agitation at herself - she was having a _minor_ relapse, but a relapse all the same. Her mind seized and her stomach clenched and churned - she quickly shoved a wad of tissue paper down the toilet as she began to vomit. She held her hair back, her nose and eyes streaming from the force of her vomiting.

She swilled her mouth out with water from the sink and spat it into the toilet, flushing it away and brushing her teeth again.

"You nearly done?" Gregory's voice was muffled by the door, meaning she couldn't tell if he heard her vomit, but she removed her bottle of valium from her make up bag and swallowed several pills. Probably not healthy, she mused, but when did she have any concern over her health?

"Yeah," she muttered, unlocking the door and stepping past him. Her pills were firmly zipped up in her make up bag, which she quickly removed from the sink. "All free."

His worried frown wasn't missed by her, so she turned and gave him a tiny kiss. His lips curved into a smile on her own, and she smiled back.

* * *

Her mother knew something had happened, but Rowan didn't know if the woman knew _what_ happened. She hoped not - it was embarrassing enough walking on the pair of them when she was eight and Dottie having to explain why their bed was creaking and no, there weren't monsters eating mommy and daddy.

"So... why aren't we staying with your family, again?" Bob sighed, nursing his head in his hands. "If Rookery is after us, why do we stay here? I just don't understand."

Freda flushed in anger. "Because, Robert, I don't want to put everyone at risk! For as much as we adore Rowan and would be willing to be turned again for her, they wouldn't and they don't know her," she snapped out, pausing to take a sip of her tea. "It's bad enough you have been forced from your own home, let alone us being forced from ours!"

"So you're territorial, that's it?" Bob scoffed. "I don't see why we're meant to suck blood for a life time!"

"So you won't do this for your daughter?" Frederick asked, his face pale with fury. Rowan was touched by the way they fought her battle for her. "She's happy with _my_ son, Robert - I'm willing to do anything for her, just to see Gregory smile again and again! Do you not want the same for your daughter?"

Rowan's lips quirked into a sad smile. _Probably not - how long has it been since he's recognised he has children? _

"**Of course I do!**" Bob bellowed, his hand slamming down on the hard table in front of him and making a loud bang. "Do you not think - " He took a sharp inhale and tried again, but his face was red in anger and he was blinking rapidly. "Rowan - is _my_ baby girl! I am _terrified_ of _my_ baby girl - terrified _for_ her! You **don't** know her! You don't know - a fucking thing - " He paused again, one hand pressed to his chest. He shook his head, closing his eyes in pain. "You didn't find - her when she - she tried to kill herself - when she was the same age - as - as Anna! Do you think I could - bear to look at her, pale - like when she - she - " His voice broke and his eyes began to glisten with unshed tears. "_Died - _"

"Bob, just breathe," Dottie soothed, one hand rubbing circles on his back. "It's okay - calm down."

Rowan's mind was blank. Wholly and absolutely. She pushed herself away from the wall and climbed the stairs, seeking her little brother.

She knocked on Rudolph's door and waited, pulling her little mop-haired brother into her arms when he flung the door open. _What have I done to them?_

* * *

The drive was solemn and long. They had decided to spilt into their respective families - the Thompson's and the Sackville-Baggs. Dottie was driving - Bob was sleeping in the passenger seat. He occasionally released noises of discontent and he had a sharp tick above his right eyebrow.

Rowan had led down and shoved a pillow against the door, curling her body around Tony's for more warmth and sleep. Tony was humming, playing with his fingers and threading them into her hair and shirt, before doing the same to himself. She was watching him in bemusement - he thought she was asleep.

"We're going to pull over now," Dottie said. Tony hummed louder in reply. "Wake Row up, will you? I'll give you some money to go buy drinks and food from the services."

Tony turned and Rowan quickly slammed her eyes shut, opening her mouth slightly. "Wake up," he whispered, blue eyes wide. "Rowan..."

Rowan pretended to grumble and opened one eye. "Was'it?"

Tony's face broke out into a brilliant smile, revealing one missing tooth. "Come on, get up - I need to go the toilet."

She grinned in amusement, sitting up. Dottie found a parking space relatively quickly - Frederick pulled up beside her, giving her a hard nod. The children all piled out of the cars, Rowan taking the lead. "Gregory, could you take them to the toilet and I'll take Anna?"

Gregory grinned and kissed her. "Of course, love. Be careful."

Rudolph and Tony both scoffed - and Rowan hid her blush. "I'm not exactly going to fall in the fucking toilet, y'know?" Anna took her hand and began to drag away.

"Oh, you pair are so sweet together!" Anna sighed. "Oh, how I wish for someone like that..."

"Some_one?_ I thought you liked Tony? Tony's not like that at all!" Rowan gasped, seeing the light hint of red creep up Anna's neck. "No - you don't like Tony any more? But what about my easel?!" She gaped down at the little girl, whose face continued to redden. "But - Tony likes you! He's just started to like you - who do you like?!"

"Flint!" she burst out, beaming brightly. "Oh, he's so kind - and such a gentleman!"

"But - _what? _Flint? McAshton? My _easel_! Gregory's going to get his nose pierced! Rudolph - oh _God_ - Rudolph..." Her voice trailed off. "He's going lose the Nintendo..."

"But - _what?_" Anna echoed, her nose scrunched up in confusion. "Why're you going to lose your easel? Why's Gregory getting his nose pierced? Rudolph's gaming device - _did you bet on me?!_"

Rowan pushed her into an open toilet and entered the one beside her. "Yes, we bet on you - and I'd _just_ got Tony to confess his love for you! For _God's_ sake, Anna!"

"But he's only nine," Anna replied smugly. "He doesn't know what love is."

"Flint's ten!" Rowan shrieked. "You're ten! Well - ten and then some, but you're a baby!"

"You don't know any more than I do!" Anna replied sharply; her tone was argumentative but at the same time placative. The pair exited the toilets - Rowan felt bad at arguing with a little girl, but damn it she had made a bet and lost! "If you knew more than I about love, you would admit that you love Gregory."

Rowan's breath hitched. Warmth started creeping up her neck, up to her ears - even to her hairline. Gregory had a similar facial expression to herself, although his face was rapidly paling as opposed to reddening.

Anna continued on, incredibly pleased with herself, "Well, I can see you're both acknowledging you're in love, now - when's the wedding?"

Rowan's mouth dropped open further, before she regained her wits about her. "When Gregory gets his nose pierced and Rudolph gets rid of his Nintendo Colour."

Rudolph's head snapped up. "_What?_ Who? Tony?" Rowan shook her head. "_Not _Tony?" Rowan nodded solemnly. "Who?" Rudolph barked, looking between Anna and Rowan like an angry child. Tony was, somehow, nowhere to be seen - Rowan assumed he was still in the toilet.

"Flint McAshton." Rowan said, self-satisfied. She just hoped hat Tony didn't find them now - he'd be crushed.

"Flint _fucking _McAshton?" Gregory burst out, pushing away from the wall. "Do you just ignore the fact that he made Tony's life hell? He's a _cunt!_"

"Gregory!" Anna gasped. "Don't use such horrible language!"

"To be fair, he's a twat, Anna." Rowan agreed. "The pair of them gave Tony a bloody nose and stomped on his head."

Anna pouted. "And Gregory _killed_ someone," Her voice was purposefully low. "But you still love him."

"Technically," Rowan whispered, putting her head next to Anna's ear. "_I've_ killed someone. Tony hasn't hurt a fly."

"Rookery doesn't matter," Anna countered. "Gregory had been called Gregory the Gruesome for a reason, you know. Somehow, I find feasting on someone's intestines worse than giving someone a bloody nose."

"Sorry, guys!" Tony's voice chirped from the mens toilets, cutting Anna's and Rowan's argument short. "I'm done!" He left the toilets, beaming happily.

Rowan shifted herself upright, so that it _didn't_ look like she was having an argument with Anna. Gregory and Rudolph stepped closer, Rudolph grinning back at Tony. "How long do you think we'll be?" Tony continued, taking Rowan's hand and dragging her away. "You're so boring when you're asleep. Why are you so tired, any way? You got the day off!"

Rowan flushed. "You'll find out when you hit puberty, brat. Now choose what you want so we can piss off out of here."

Gregory's dark chuckle made her redden even more - Rudolph let out a loud gasp, staring between the two with something akin to shock on his face. "Oh, you didn't - you didn't do _that_, did you?"

Rowan wished the ground would open up and swallow her when Gregory laughed louder. She turned away, a tiny smile on her lips. "Maybe," Gregory replied - his voice was amused with a tinge of want. "What type of 'that' do you mean?"

Rudolph seemed to become redder than was humanly possible. "_Sex_," he whispered. Gregory's laugh became full-blown as Rowan whirled around. "Oh - I thought you were respectable, Rowan!"

"Hey!" she squawked. "I _am_ respectable - it was a birthday present!"

"Oh that's even worse," Rudolph groaned. "What will mother and father say?"

"You tell them nothing!" Rowan hissed, mortified. "I'll have your bloody head!"

"Why will you have his head?" Tony asked, shuffling up behind her with a large, bulging plastic bag in his hands. "Can we go now? Anna's just buying... something."

"Rudolph - um." Rowan paused, trying to think of a response that would make him ask questions. "Wants to play Russian Roulette!"

Tony's head perked up. "Russian Roulette? What's that? Can I play?" He seemed to get more excited. "Me and Rudolph are going to play Russian Roulette!"

"No you're not!" Rowan growled. _Wrong thing to say. _"Russian Roulette is roulette but with a gun - you load a bullet into a revolver and spin it, so it's in a random place. You put the gun to your head and pull the trigger until there's a clear winner - the person that isn't dead."

Tony paled, looking at Rudolph in concern. Rudolph's eyes were spitting pure murder at Rowan - she gave him a pleading look. The murderous look faded away and he sighed, looking to the side. "I just wanted to see your reaction," he lied. "Russian Roulette sounds silly."

Rowan smiled brilliantly, taking the flimsy plastic bag from Tony and taking his hand in her own. Anna slid behind her and took the other hand, leaning into her with a cheeky grin. "You and Gregory had sex."

"God fucking _damn_ it!"

* * *

Dottie wouldn't stop laughing - Freda looked ready to join her, but held her composure. Rowan sighed, ignoring Frederick's rant. " - and you should know better, Gregory - what if someone had seen you - I raised you a gentleman - taking advantage - "

"Will all due respect, _father_, I'm a hormonal teenage boy - and Rowan moans so pre - "

"Don't finish your fucking sentence!" Rowan shrieked, slamming her foot down on Gregory's boot. Gregory let out a loud bark of laughter, his eyes curving into a wicked glare. "I'm fucking serious!"

"Who's Serious?" Gregory sniggered, flicking his fringe back. "Should I be concerned?"

"You're _such_ a prick!" Rowan huffed, privately thankful that her dad was asleep. He'd had one too many Rowan shocks in his lifetime - she thought this one might finish him off.

"Are you two listening to me?!" Frederick roared, a large vein pulsing above his eye. "Now we have to explain to Tony what - _sexual intercourse _is!"

"Don't be such a prude, dad," Gregory laughed, leaning back on their car. "I asked Rowan for her permission to court her - I respect her and," He stepped closer to his father, nearly the same height as him now. "_She's the girl I'm going to marry__._" Rowan cocked her head, trying to listen or in the very least, lip-read, but Gregory's hair covered his mouth.

Frederick let out a sharp exhale through his nose - but what ever Gregory said seemed to do the trick. "All right. Fine. Let's go - it's only forty minutes from here."

Rowan shrugged, sliding into their car and pulling Tony into her side. Dottie got in the front seat... and proceeded to laugh some more. "Oh, shut up." Rowan blushed, shoving a chocolate block into her mouth.

"You floozy!" Dottie giggled, reversing out of her spot and leading the way to the motorway. Rowan pouted. "Oh, don't worry, hun. I was thirteen when I lost my virginity - your dad was fourteen at the time," She sighed, her lips pulling into a fond smile. "And now look us - married with two beautiful children. I hope you and Gregory have your little love story, too - although I don't want to be a grandmother just yet." Dottie's blue eyes met Rowan's own through the mirror. "Get married first, and I expect your first child to be a boy. The second... I'm hoping you have two twin boys, oh - and then one little girl to finish the set."

"Mom!" Rowan laughed, feeling better in herself. "Don't plan my life before I do, all right?" Rowan paused. "Besides, I'm not having kids. They hurt."

"Oh, yes they do!" Dottie agreed, speeding up slightly as Frederick passed them. "Raising them is no fairy-tale, either. You were a sick little baby - full of colic. I can just remember when Bob had put you to bed, and you started crying as the clock turned twelve. I shot upstairs and pulled you into my arms, and you just wouldn't stop crying. Bob was in bed at this point - you sapped a lot of our energy and we slept nigh on constantly - I ended up leaving work to take care of you because you hated your grandparents. And I can remember just thinking how beautiful you were. You were wailing and sobbing, but you were my gorgeous little child - you were mine! I'd carried to you term and here was the thing that was growing in me, kicking my bladder when I slept through my alarm clock and kicking me when I was upset, to let me know that you were there for me. It was a massive epiphany for me - you were my beautiful little girl and I would cherish you forever. Sure, you were hell, but you were so worth it." Dottie hesitated, smiling warmly. "Does that make sense? You weren't planned either, love - I didn't want you. I didn't want you all the way through the pregnancy... but in that moment, it didn't matter."

Rowan didn't know how to reply. So, she settled for the first thing that came to her mind - "I think I love him."

Dottie began to laugh again.

* * *

The house where the party was being held wasn't a house at all. There were large, wrought-iron gates surrounding the property, topped with vicious looking prongs. There was a large strip of concrete with lovely green grass and bright flowers lining the way, leading to a large round fountain that partially hid the large castle. There were four cars on the drive - Bob's mouth dropped open at an old Bentley Convertible.

Frederick parked close to the old car and Dottie pulled up behind - Gregory leapt out of his car and rushed to the front door, knocking frantically. Rowan stared as an old man answered - Gregory threw his arms around the man with a loud exclamation. "Grandpapa!"

_Grandfather? He looks so old!_ Rowan stared in bemusement - the man was hunched over, with a neatly trimmed white beard and neatly combed white hair. He wore a dark suit, a bright red bow tie around his neck. Another man appeared at his side - "Grandpa!" Gregory exclaimed, shifting over to the other man and hugging him as well.

Rowan assumed that the older man was the great-grandfather. "Do we get out?" Her mother whispered, turning to face Rowan. Rowan shrugged.

"I think I'm going to wait for them to realise we're here," Rowan whispered back. "If all else fails I'll sneak to their car and ask them to introduce us."

"Is that your _girlfriend's_ car?" The older man chortled, pushing Gregory over to their car. "Go, boy! Introduce us! I wish to meet the girl who captured your heart - and the young lad who released us from our eternal damnation!"

Gregory pinkened, giving Dottie a wide grin and opening the front door. He helped her out, before doing to the same for Rowan - Tony slid out behind his sister and Bob got out himself, giving a firm nod to the other men.

"Grandpapa, grandpa - this is Rowan Thompson, my girlfriend," He grinned cheekily, pushing her forward. Rowan shook both of their hands, beaming when the pair of them both kissed her hand. "And this is Dorothy Thompson," He gestured to Dottie. "The Lady of the Thompson family."

"Please, call me Dottie," Dottie smiled, also beaming when they kissed her hand. "Thank you so much for allowing us into your home."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine!" the older man said. "And this must be little Tony Thompson!" He shook Tony's hand firmly. "Oh, and Robert, of course," He shook Bob's hand and nodded. "My name is Gustav Sackville-Bagg. This is my son and Frederick's father, Eduard. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

The introductions done, they now had the task of getting their luggage to their rooms. "Now, Anna and Rowan will be staying together, of course, and the boys all together, too. Oh - and Gregory?" Gustav hummed. "Be wary of Astrid. She's still under the impression that you're engaged."

Rowan chocked on her own spit. "Astrid thinks you're _what_? Astrid _who?_"

"Astrid is... Well," Gregory turned to Frederick, who held his hands up in mock surrender. "You should explain."

"Astrid is the daughter of a wealthy Noble back in the Old Country - I had Gregory and herself loosely betrothed since their birth, under the clause that if Gregory didn't find somebody to wed before he turned eighteen, they would be engaged. Her mother has showered her with the delusion that Gregory adores her and that they are a love match - and what with the addition of you, they are longer betrothed if her mother would only agree to end the damn contract." Frederick sighed.

A malevolent glint blossomed in Rowan's eyes. "And why must Gregory be _wary_ of this... Astrid, sir?" Rowan smiled warmly at Gustav, who seemed enamoured with the blonde beauty. The little lady reminded him of his own wife, headstrong with a sailor's mouth - and oh how he had loved Annabella so!

"Well, my dearest," Gustav sighed. "She has been truly ruined by her wench of a mother. Without sounding slanderous, I dare say she will refuse to acknowledge the love you two share."

"Oh, will she?" Rowan smirked darkly - Gustav smiled back, taking her smooth hand in his own gnarled hand and pulling the girl into him like a grandfather to his newest grandchild - tucked firmly into his side. "Do you like her?"

"No," Gustav grinned. "She's a bitch."

"Grandfather!" Freda gasped, before laughing into her hand. "Don't worry, dear. When she sees how beautiful you are by his side, she should leave you be."

* * *

_Astrid truly was a spoilt little bitch_, Rowan mused. "Could you just - you know, give me a _conclusive_ reason as to why you and Gregory should be together?"

Astrid paled in her anger. She was a pretty girl, Rowan admitted, with lovely, milk-bottle skin, dark eyes and dark hair - she had lightly curled her dark hair and it framed her heart-shaped face well. Her cheekbones were strong, underneath large eyes, and her nose was straight, set above pouty pink lips. Her body was also pretty - she had an hourglass figure, with a tiny waist, with a small bust and small thighs. Rowan briefly wondered if she even held a candle to this girl, despite her foul personality - the only dampener to her obvious beauty.

"We have been engaged since we were born!" Her voice was dark and lilting, with a hint of a German accent that made her guttural yet the same time smooth. "That is well over seven hundred years spent together - I hardly believe two, three months to compare? We have history! And you? You seem to be a quick _fuck_."

"A quick fuck, hmm?" Rowan smiled. "It wasn't that quick, considering I took his virginity, and he mine. He lasted a good while." Rowan twirled around and left the spluttering girl on her own - she had a party to make herself pretty for.

Anna gave her a knowing look when she returned - "She's a harpy, isn't she?" Anna sighed. "However, Rowan - you need not be threatened. While they may have _history_," Anna stressed the word, winking at Rowan to let her know that they didn't, in fact, have history. "Gregory had been forced into that. He _willingly_ asked to court you - something he would never do for that loose chit."

"Loose?" Rowan giggled immaturely. "Now, Anna, I need you to make me look beautiful again, okay?"

"You do that yourself." Anna gushed, eager for another chance of making Rowan look like a doll. "Oh, you'll be a princess - no, _Belle_ of the ball by the time I'm done! Astrid will look like excrement in comparison!"

Rowan beamed.

Anna had been true to her word - Rowan's pale skin was glowing but there were still light hints of her freckles. Anna had applied red blusher to the apples of her cheeks, as well as contouring her nose slightly. Her eyes were shadowed darkly, making her eyes seem so much brighter, with false eyelashes applied to widen her eyes slightly. Her lips weren't crimson, like Rowan was expecting - instead they were light red, so that her dress seemed that much more striking. Her hair had been tortured through being straightened and then curled in alternating curls, ending at her waist - she had to spray her hair thoroughly as it smelt burnt.

"You have such a pretty taste in dresses, Rowan," Anna sighed dreamily. "I can't wait until I'm grown like you are - this gown is so beautiful."

"Oh, I know," she laughed. "My best friend bought it for me." She unzipped the back of the dress and stepped into it, sliding the soft material up her body until it was fitted firmly to her bust. Anna gently pushed her hair to the side to zip the dress up.

"Best friend in San Diego?" Anna prodded, removing a silver necklace from her own neck and placing it around Rowan's.

"Yeah. He was called Charles," Rowan's facial expression became very, very sad. "He - um - well, he ran away." She swallowed heavily. "He left without a good bye. We moved to Scotland - and he left me without saying good bye." Rowan didn't tell the whole truth - he had left her his silver bracelet that read, _Charles Collins_. She didn't tell the police that, though - it was her little secret. She slipped the chain on her wrist, tucking the metal plated part on the inner side of her wrist.

Anna embraced her from behind, the little girl growing in her two months of being human. "I'm sorry."

"Nah, it's fine." Rowan faked a laugh. "He pulled a gun on me once!"

Anna gasped. "No - he didn't! Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine," Rowan giggled, stepping into her strappy heels and clicking them into place. She also removed the thin gauze on her arm, leaving the jagged cut visible for all to see. The stitches had dissolved and it was now down to Rowan to take care of the agitated cut."Now, let's make you the little sister I never had."

* * *

Rowan held Anna's hand in her own, clenching it in her nervousness. "Will they like me, d'you think?"

Anna nodded her head. "Oh, absolutely! I've yet to meet someone who hasn't liked you - excluding the obnoxious children at your school and Rookery, of course - and I think my family will be overjoyed that Gregory has found someone as stunning as you!"

Rowan nodded, her nerves eased slightly. "So, what do I do? Do I wait for Gregory, or do I just waltz in?"

"I shall escort you down the front staircase, where Gregory will be waiting with everyone to escort you into the Dining Hall. While Gregory's birthday is the main event, here, this party is unofficially about you and Tony. Rudolph will escort Tony around and I will escort you when Gregory isn't around."

"This seems like the mafia," Rowan joked. "Am I not allowed to be alone?"

"Absolutely not!" Anna gasped. "A lady must never be on her own - especially a lady such as yourself!" Anna's voice lowered. "Besides, Lucy and Lily have warned me that Astrid is planning to publicly embarrass you."

Rowan seized. "What?" she whimpered. "It's bad enough people will be waiting with Gregory to see me, let alone some stupid bint trying to embarrass me! Will I be in trouble if I slap her back?"

"Yes!" Anna whirled around, looking up at Rowan with her wide, innocent eyes. "You must _not_ retaliate. If she does anything, I will call her out on it and she'll get in trouble with the entire family. Don't retaliate - that puts you in the wrong. I need you to _promise _me. You must smile and brush it off - leave the room crying if you can."

"Okay," Rowan swallowed audibly. "Cry. That's fine. I can do crying. I can do this. I promise."

"You can do this," Anna reiterated, pulling the girl closer to the staircase. "Big smile, my lovely. Big smile."

Rowan began to giggle, which was the only noise in the room when they appeared at the top of the staircase. The consistent chatter had slowed to a stop as the large family stared - she blinked quickly and swallowed, looking for Gregory or in the very least, Rudolph.

Her lips smoothed out into a large smile when she saw Gregory in a dark suit, his hair neatly combed and tied at the nape of his neck. His slitted eyebrow was still proudly slitted, although he had a small hoop in his right nostril. He was gob smacked.

"Go on, boy," Gustav barked, breaking the silence that fell over the room and pushing Gregory forward. "Go to the lady!"

Rowan began to giggle again, giving Gustav a thankful look. Gregory stumbled slightly but met her at the bottom of the staircase, holding his arm out. She took it awkwardly, one hand still firmly in Anna's grasp. Anna gave her hand a quick squeeze before dropping it and rushing over to two twin girls with dark hair. "Lucy, Lily - didn't I tell you she was stunning?" Anna gushed.

The two girls nodded in reply. "Astrid's got nothing on her," One of them stage-whispered, went sent Gustav into hysterics. Eduard rushed to his father's side, hiding his smile, as the man began to cough. "She's..."

"Perfect," The other girl nodded. "Drop dead gorgeous."

Rowan blushed brightly, pressing herself into Gregory's side. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and lead them into the Dining Hall - Frederick and Freda were sat at the end of the hall, sat on the left hand side of two chairs in the middle of the room. Gustav and Eduard overtook the couple and took the seats, still leaving behind the two in the very middle.

On a table in front sat Rudolph, Tony, Dottie and Bob, with three other spare seats. "We'll be sitting at the very front of the room," Gregory whispered into her ear. "You _must_ sit and stand to the left of me at all times, okay? We'll be sat together, because grandpapa disagrees with couples being separated, but we will be sat to the right of my grandpapa, okay?"

Rowan didn't question why, feeling somewhat pleased she had stood on his left side of her own accord. "Do we eat first? How do I eat? Is there many items of cutlery? I'm not allowed to lean across the table, right?"

Gregory laughed in her ear as more people filed into the room, all settling into their seats. Anna rushed to sit with the Thompson's, sliding next to Rudolph. "We have a toast and then we begin to eat - eat as ladylike as possible and tiny bites. Yes - don't worry about that, though, just copy me. Keep your posture straight at all possible times and don't lean - definitely do not lean."

Rowan nodded, stepping up to the platform the table sat on. Gregory pulled out her chair, which was to the left of his, placing her next to Frederick, and she sat down. Gregory gave her a quick wink and pushed her in, sitting beside her.

"Now, I know you know why you're here," Eduard began, standing up and tapping a small silver spoon on the side of his empty wine glass to shush the people who hadn't quietened when he began speaking. "To celebrate Gregory's sixteenth birthday, as well as this meaning he is now integrated into the family business. As he is the eldest son of Frederick, he is the heir to the Sackville-Bagg business, yes? You're all aware of this?" Rowan most certainly was _not_, but there were various noises of agreement from around the room that made her keep her lips tightly closed. "Wonderful." Eduard beamed. "This is his coming of age party. Now, you may also notice that the lovely lady to his left is _not_ Astrid Traugott - Gregory has found a lady he can hold close, which is _not_ an easy feat," Laughter bubbled throughout the room. "They began courting a little over two months ago now, and I wish them all the best. By law, his betrothal to Astrid Traugott is no longer viable. Now - let us eat, drink and be merry!"

Gregory gave her another wink as noise erupted around the room - people filed in through the doors, wearing white and black uniforms and holding many plates and bowls. "Grandpa likes you - he must have gotten Mrs. Traugott to sign the annulment papers. What would you like to drink?"

Rowan turned to face him, her lips pursed. "When were you going to tell me about this 'family-business' thing?" Gregory looked abashed - she shook her head in amusement. "That would have been great to know, but alas... Bucks Fizz would be great."

"Sorry, love. It completely slipped my mind. Didn't I ever tell you what father did?" He found the bottle of weak champagne and poured her a glass. "I didn't, did I?"

Rowan shook her head, her lips parting into a grin. "Now... When did you get your nose pierced?" She found the hoop to be rather appealing, if she was honest - "Does that mean I have to part with my easel?"

He laughed loudly, shaking his head. Strands of hair came loose - delicate hands rose to push them back into place, the wicked gash on her arm visible to Gustav and Eduard. Gustav took a deep breath.

"Goodness, child! What happened?" His voice exuded worry - he wasn't disgusted with the thought that she had done it herself which made her feel so loved by this family who didn't even _know_ her, despite the real reason that caused it.

"Rookery," Frederick murmured, taking a sip of his red wine. "He... Well, we believed him to be dead, didn't we?" Frederick sighed when Gustav gasped.

"He didn't - oh, you poor child. Did he try to kill you?" Eduard's dark eyes bore into her own, spitting murder at the thought of the vampire hunter trying to kill the girl in front of him.

"He damn-near succeeded," Gregory growled, his hand tightening into a fist. She dropped her hands down, realising she was still trying to smooth stubborn strands of hair into place, and smiled bashfully. "He fed from her when she was asleep and vulnerable."

"Where were you, boy?" Gustav's tone was ice-cold - she couldn't decide if it was aimed at Gregory or Rookery - or perhaps both? "While your lovely lady was being hurt so terribly?"

Rowan flushed. "That was my fault, actually." She felt like a little girl when Gustav's light eyes glanced at her and flickered straight back to Gregory, accusatory. "I barricaded my door so that nobody could come in - Rookery had met me at school and threatened someone I cared about. I'm not brilliant at handling situations like that and I kind of flipped out at everyone, blocking them out."

"Nobody can blame you for that," Eduard's voice was so gentle and soft that she wanted to cry. "I would have done the same in your place, wholly and absolutely."

Gustav nodded in understanding. "I trust that Rookery has been taken care of."

Gregory growled again in disgust. "He was turned, grandpapa. We currently have the Thompson's living with us, but I don't know how long it will be before he finds us again."

Gustav breathed in deeply, raising his glass of champagne to his lips and downing the flute. "You are _welcome_ to stay with us, dear."

The conversation stilled as their food arrived - Gregory quickly placed a serviette on her lap and on his own before the bowls were placed on the table. They had a starter of salad - Gregory used the outermost cutlery to begin eating so she quickly followed, her fork in her left hand and her knife in the right. "Well done," he praised quietly. "Straighten your posture. Mrs. Traugott looks ready to murder you."

Rowan followed his gaze to a pretty woman with dark hair pulled into a tight bun. Bright green eyes met her own and the woman sneered disdainfully - Rowan glared back just as ferociously until the woman sniffed and looked away. "Well done," Gregory grinned cheekily as she puffed up from his praise. "Don't let them walk all over you. Women are free range because you're with me, guest of honour - but for the love of all things sacred, don't start a fight with a man. Just the women. Men are another matter altogether."

"I don't think I like this fancy business," Rowan pouted, straightening her back and eating her food delicately. She swallowed her food before continuing. "It seems like such a pain in the arse."

Gregory laughed again - Gustav and Eduard both started laughing as well, but they were much more discrete. They didn't want to be caught eavesdropping! "You're telling me! Why do you think I am how I am? It's suffocating, isn't it?" Rowan's heart twinged in sympathy. "After this, there will be a light soup course - tilt your spoon away from you and take small sips instead of putting the spoon into your mouth."

"How do you know?" Rowan asked in surprise, sniffing the air. "I can't smell anything..."

"The way the cutlery is arranged - see? Soup and then we'll be having a fish or chicken main course, followed by a palette cleanser - and then a dessert. Then, grandpapa will retire to the smoking room, where many of us will leave with him."

"Including you?" Rowan asked curiously.

Gregory nodded with an indulgent smile. "You will retire to the tea room, where you will be served different teas and coffees to consume to your hearts desire - please remember to lift your little finger and have a serviette on your lap when sat down. Anna, Rudolph, my mum, Tony and Dottie will be with you at this point, so you shouldn't be concerned about that. The time to worry is when we are reunited to dance the night away and I have to show you around the room and introduce you. I have a very large family, you know - that's a lot of people to meet in a couple of hours."

"I can tell," she said drily. "God, British people are so strange. In America you just great each other and move on - there's so many rules here!"

"He hasn't even touched the tip of the iceberg," Frederick smirked. "You have a lot to learn, little lady."

"You have to remain confident and poised," Freda added with a whimsical smile. "Although you seem to have that down to a T. When I was first introduced to the family, I was never classified as a 'lady' - and all I've heard is people calling you a 'lady'!" Freda laughed delicately. "You ooze charm - you draw people to you like a moth to flame."

Rowan quickly blinked to hide the tears forming but Freda saw them develop - she felt like a proud mother when Rowan nodded and returned to her meal.

"Now, as we're having a soup course, I'm obligated to pour you a glass of sherry." Gregory added, pouring the dark liquid into a thick glass. She blinked at the assortment of different glasses, eyed Frederick's red wine glass, and decided that she had a regular flute for champagne, a sherry glass, a red wine glass, and perhaps a white wine glass? "Father tends to ignore this particular rule as he is fond of two types of wine." He added, whispering it like a seedy rumour. Rowan erupted into giggles, covering her mouth with her hand.

Gregory smirked, pleased with himself. "Take a sip. If you don't like it, we can hide it and pass it off as my own."

Rowan took a tiny sip and nearly spat it out again. It was a dry wine, with an undercurrent of sugar. Unpleasant but bearable - she took another sip and placed the glass down. "Thank you."

"Oh, do you like it?" he asked in surprise. "I didn't think it would be sweet enough."

"Are you calling me uncultured?" she replied hotly. Gregory snorted in amusement.

"Of course not, love - but I've seen how much sugar you put into your tea and coffee."

* * *

Gustav watched in pleasure as the young couple interacted. It was obvious that Gregory liked her very much - perhaps even loved her. She was sloppy with her table manners, but charming at the same time. It helped that she oozed confidence and sex appeal, as she gave the impression of someone who wouldn't be - dare he say it - _fucked_ about with. She had a no-nonsense air about her - and he found himself getting attached to the little darling.

His chest had seized in horror at the angry wound on her arm, but his throat damn-near closed up when she revealed the real reason. Rookery! Of all blasted people! Oh how he wished he had killed that blasted family in their sleep!

He continued to watch them interact, his heart pounding at the thought that they were very much like him and his lovely Annabella. The way Gregory hovered over her was reminiscent of himself and it made his chest hurt. Annabella had been killed by vampire hunters over a hundred years ago, but he still felt the loss clear as day. He would be thrice damned to the gates of hell if Rowan left Gregory the very same way.

He sighed and tapped his glass again, signifying the end of the meal. He stood, clearing his throat. "Now that we are fed and watered, I shall retire to the smoking room. You are welcome to join me, gentlemen - come, Eduard, Frederick, Gregory."

* * *

Gregory broke every rule of etiquette and courting when he leant down and kissed Rowan on her mouth, ruined her lipstick and smudging it on himself. She kissed back before pulling away, wiping the sides of her mouth with a guilty smile. "Off you go, birthday boy."

Gregory pulled her chair out and offered her his hand - she was vaguely aware of Frederick doing the same to Freda as she took his hand. Freda came up behind her and gently led her away, down the small ledge for her children and the Thompson's. "Robert, follow Frederick." Freda smiled and Bob stalked away.

"Now, come. Straight backed Tony, Dottie, and don't challenge anyone."

Anna took Rowan's hand and whispered, "This is where Astrid is most likely to try it, so be careful."

Rowan tensed and nodded. "Don't leave me on my own."

"Never."

* * *

Astrid didn't try anything - but her mother most certainly did. "So, Rowan... What are your future plans? As a future wife for young Gregory, of course - nothing too strenuous, surely? When do you suppose you'll get married?"

Rowan hesitated on her reply, before straightening her posture and dropping Anna's hand. "Well, I'm firstly planning on eight A star to A grades at GCSE - I'm hoping for an A star in English, Core and Additional triple Science as well as Mathematics. After that, I plan on attending my schools Sixth Form centre and taking Biology, Chemistry, Physics and English Literature at A level - hopefully getting AAAA through the two years of schooling." Mrs. Traugott's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I then plan on attending the University of Birmingham for Medicine. I plan on marrying Gregory when we both wish to be wed."

"Don't you think your plans are a little _too_ ambitious? Especially from the rumours I've heard about your... past." She sneered. "I doubt they'll let damaged goods through their prestigious doors!" She tittered, but the only other person laughing was her daughter.

"Personally, I believe that they are very strong goals," One woman gave Roman an appraising look. "Hello, dear, I'm Freya Sackville-Bagg; I wish you the best at achieving such grades."

Rowan greeted the other woman with a happy smile, but her eyes were stormy with anger. _Don't retaliate. You promised Anna. **Promised.**_ "Hello - it's lovely to meet you. My name's Rowan Thompson."

"Oh, it's lovely to meet you, as well!" Freya gushed, taking Rowan's hand in her own. "I like you already!"

Astrid's pale skin flushed a light red as she was ignored.

Soon, the men excited the smoking room and Gregory took Rowan into his arms, wrapping his arm around her waist. He smelt of cigars, which wasn't a smell that Rowan found pleasant. She didn't complain - she used to smell terribly of stale cigarettes.

"Everything gone well?" Gregory asked quietly, pressing a kiss to her mouth again. "Anyone say anything?"

"Just Mrs. Traugott." She sighed. "Said my dreams were too ambitious and something about 'damaged goods' and 'past' in the same sentence."

"Just ignore her, love. Do you want me to ask grandpapa to make them disappear?" Gregory began to lead her out of the room, keeping her attention solely on him. "He will, you know. He's fallen in love with you. I don't think making them suffer a fatal car accident with broken brakes would be something he would be against for you."

Rowan giggled and pressed herself into his front, arms rising to wind themselves in his hair. "I'm tired and slightly tipsy." She confessed. "I haven't had alcohol in a long time."

"Well, Anna has to be in bed by eleven, so you'll be going with her, okay? Tony and Rudolph too." Gregory leant down slightly to embrace her fully, pulling her flush against his body. "Don't let that stupid woman bother you."

"Easier said than done." She confessed, her voice tiny. "I haven't done anything to them and they mindlessly hate me."

Gregory laughed softly. "But aren't you like that, darling?" Rowan stomped on his foot. "They are petty and shallow. They wish to marry into money and they have disillusioned themselves to the truth - that betrothal contract was written in the thirteen-hundreds, my love - I hardly think any court of law would respect it, even if grandpa hadn't gotten it annulled. Now, come with me. You've met the women of my family - now it's time to meet the men."

Rowan gulped.

* * *

The men of the family were all extremely tall, loud and handsome.

And extremely snobby.

They ignored her, for the better part, although some gave her appraising looks while the others gave her disgusted ones. She subconsciously tucked herself further into Gregory's side as she met a Mr. Traugott. The man let out a booming laugh and shook her free hand. "Hello, lovely. You're the girl Astrid has been harping on about, aye?"

Rowan nodded, shook his hand and dropped it again, pulling it close to herself. "All bad things, I assume?"

The man laughed louder. "Oh, pretty and humorous! You've caught a good one there, Gregory - look after her." The man stumbled away, obviously drunk, while Rowan blinked in confusion.

"I think that was the best reception I've had from a man in the past hour."

"Stay away from him, love - I don't like how he was looking at you." Gregory warned. "Now, I'm afraid I must go speak to Mrs. Traugott and Astrid - my mother and Anna are already speaking to them, see? Come with me - I'll properly introduce you."

Rowan swallowed her tongue. _Well, I've already met the pair of them. _"Hullo," Gregory greeted dully, standing beside his mother. He towered over her - Rowan realised, with a small amount of shock, that he had grown. _A lot_. "Thank you for coming."

Astrid let out a loud giggle, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "No problem, Greg."

Rowan's eye twitched. _Greg?_ She smirked condescendingly at the brown-haired girl when the dark eyes landed on her. "Hello, Miss. Traugott. Are you well? I have some powder if you need it, darling." Gregory's arm tightened around her waist, the warning clear as day. _Stop trying to provoke her_.

Astrid gave as good as she got. "I'm very well, thank you for asking. Do you need a shawl?" Her voice oozed fake concern. "Your breasts tell me you're cold."

Rowan cracked a grin. "Why're you looking at my chest, honey? Something you're not telling mommy and daddy?"

Astrid flushed an angry red and began to splutter. "Sorry, what was that?" Rowan coaxed. "I couldn't hear you, darling."

Astrid hissed and pulled her hand back - Rowan caught the hand as it nearly collided with her cheek. The blonde girl tugged the offending hand until the brown haired girl was directly in front of her. "_Leave me alone, dear. You **don't** want to piss me_ _off_. Do you understand?"

Astrid struggled to break free of the grip - Rowan tightened her grip until Astrid's face clouded in pain, "I - I understand," the girl said meekly, relaxing her arm. "Please let me go."

"I'm glad we're on the same page, honey." Rowan gave the girl a fond smile and dropped her hand - the fond smile grew into a nasty grin when the girl slapped her with her other free hand. "_Wrong move._"

Rowan bit her lip, turning to Gregory with wide, tearful eyes. Gregory looked back with a fond look, before shifting his expression to fit with the situation. "She - hit me!" Rowan hiccuped, tears tracking down her face.

Freda turned around, smiling smugly into her glass of white wine. Anna giggled quietly, before widening her eyes and exclaiming, "Astrid! What have you done?!"

"I - _what_?" Astrid exclaimed - her mother shook her head in disgust at the situation they were in. She had raised her daughter to be prim and proper - not to resort to physical violence when someone else pushed her buttons.

"I can't believe you're condoning this, Freda," Mrs. Traugott gave the woman an indescribable look. "It was never like you to pick favourites."

Freda turned and gave the woman a wicked smile. "I only want what's best for my family, Beatrice. I believe that Rowan is the best choice for my son - not a spoilt little girl."

"Leave," Gustav hissed, pushing his way through the crowd. "Get out - _never_ has somebody been so rude to attack the guest of honour's partner - get _out_!"

Eduard placed a calming hand on his father's shoulder. "Take your leave." Eduard snarled. "Never come back here - do you understand?"

"But - she - I - " Astrid stammered, looking between the older men in confusion.

"Just _go_." Gregory sighed. "If you need me, grandpapa, grandpa - I will be outside with Rowan. Hopefully the cool air will calm her somewhat."

Gregory led her outside to the sound of Astrid's splutters. "Well done, love," he praised again, a victorious smile on his face. "Grandpapa will rip them a new one!"

Rowan quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. "Has my make up smudged?" she sighed, her voice shaking and wavering.

"A little," Gregory licked the tip of his finger and began to work away at the smudges, leading her further down into the grounds of the castle. "My grandpapa and grandpa adore you."

Rowan beamed, standing up tall to kiss his chin. "I adore them. How do I refer to them, though? I feel rude referring to them as Gustav and Eduard - but Mr. Sackville-Bagg is a mouthful."

"Just call them by their names," Gregory shrugged. "Like I said, they adore you."

"Isn't this _touching_?"

Rowan and Gregory froze - they turned to the trees surrounding the area. Angry, glaring red eyes gazed back at them. _Charles?_ Rowan wanted to shout - but it couldn't be Charles, could it? Why would he be in England - why would he have the red eyes of a vampire?

"Who are you?" Gregory called, standing tall and brave.

The eyes curved in amusement, a dark laugh echoing around the courtyard. The man stepped forward.

Dark hair fell into red eyes, lined with thick eyelashes and thin, dark eyebrows. A straight nose set above thin lips.

Rowan felt a sting behind her eyes. "Charles..."

The man smiled warmly, his body losing the anger it held. "I'm glad you still remember me," he confessed, stepping closer. "You look gorgeous." He breathed out, his eyes lighting in amusement. "And you've found yourself a boy toy - does he know about me? Your _best friend_?"

Gregory stiffened, wrapping his arms around Rowan's waist. "Um - you know the one - who pulled the gun on me?" Rowan struggled to explain, her thoughts whirling. "It was Charles - him - " She pointed at Charles, who smiled wickedly. "He ran away a couple of weeks before we moved to Scotland," she hastened to add. "I - well, my mom thought he'd died... And I guess he had."

"Nice to meet you," Gregory muttered. Charles inclined his head. "Why're you here? How did you find Rowan, if you'd ran away?"

"Some man grabbed me," Charles shrugged. "It's a long story. Do you have time to hear it, Row?"

Rowan nodded, dragging Gregory over to a large slab of rock and pushing him down, settling onto his lap.

* * *

_Charles was a lonely boy. He was - there was no denying it. His mother was an abusive alcoholic and his father was in prison - he had no friends and his family cared very little for him._

_He had transferred to another school in San Diego - his mother had large debts to pay and she couldn't pay them. They moved constantly, living underneath bridges or in trailer parks if she managed to find work. They had finally settled in one trailer park when he saw a girl, younger than him, running through the park and hiding behind his trailer._

_He stepped out to address the girl, whose eyes widened at the sight of him - or something behind him?_

_She pushed him down, the bullet grazing his cheek._

_He rolled her underneath the trailer, threw her over his shoulder, and **ran**. He didn't stop to think **why** the girl was being chased by people with guns, but she'd just stopped his brain from being splattered up the window of his trailer and so he ran._

_He paused for a breath and they hid as men in heavy boots and combat trousers ran past their den. "Hi," he said lamely. "My name's Charles. Charles Collins."_

_"Hi," she whispered, grinning widely. "My name's Rowan, Rowan Thompson. Thanks for that."_

_"Welcome," he gasped, trying to catch his breath back. "Why - how old are you?"_

_"Fourteen," She beamed. "How old are you?"_

_**Fourteen.** Fourteen. The number echoed around his mind. "Sixteen," he said, his thoughts whirling. "Thanks for - um - saving me."  
_

_It was the start of a beautiful friendship - she offered him a place to stay, and he offered her protection. It worked well._

_Except - she couldn't protect him from himself, nor his mother. His mother was sick and she needed someone to get money - and so he was forced into male prostitution to fund his mothers drinking problem. Rowan Thompson couldn't know. He wouldn't let her know. He didn't want her to know._

_His clients were both female and male - he had been working on a pole when he saw a gorgeous man, with soft blond hair and bright, ruby-like eyes. He was enthralled. "I'll take him from your hands," the man promised, placing a large briefcase down on the table. Charles gulped when it opened to show stacks of money and bags of white powder and pills. "Permanently."  
_

_And Charles knew no more - his throat was burning and his neck was hurting. "You're so beautiful," the man hissed. "So, so beautiful. Come. Say farewell to your friend."_

_Charles entered the Thompson home through flying through the window - he had been turned._

_He pressed a kiss to Rowan's lips and removed his bracelet, securing it to her wrist._

_They - his master and Charles - moved around a lot. They flew over the sea to countries with culture, with bright colours and life, and tasted the blood of many. But Charles wanted to see Rowan every moment of his new existence - and so his master found her, in Scotland - being hunted by a vampire named Rookery._

_Charles killed the vampire with relish._

* * *

"You killed him?" Rowan asked, staring at Charles in sorrow. "For me? When?"

"I would destroy the world for you, princess." Charles sighed, smiling wanly. "You don't have to worry about that man any more. I found the scent of your blood in your room - you were at the hospital, I believe. I was enraged and I hunted him down, staked him and threw him into a coffin. I lit the inside of the coffin on fire and sealed the lid, wrapping it in purified chains."

"Thank you," Gregory's voice was tight. "Thank you so much."

Charles inclined his head. "Take good care of her, friend. If I hear a whisper of her being hurt, I will hold you accountable. My little princess has been hurt too much in her life."

Gregory nodded again, tightening his grip. Charles smiled warmly and, in a blink of an eye, he disappeared.

"We're not dreaming, are we?" Rowan asked nervously, fingering the bracelet on her wrist. "That just happened."

Gregory laughed. "We're not dreaming, love. Your friend has saved us. _You_."

Rowan smiled, tucking her head underneath Gregory's chin. "Happy birthday."

* * *

**_Can you say anti-climatic?_**

_I couldn't find a reasonable way to end the whole 'Rookery' thing without everyone dying and turning into vampires. Can you say cliché? I didn't want it to end that way. I'd rather be anti-climatic instead of over-done. So, there's just the epilogue to go!_

**_u should all admire the length of this chapter too ok I was stuck in a rut for so damn long I hope this turned out ok_**


	10. The End

The woman sighed, one hand laying on her flat stomach. "Are you sure?" she asked politely.

The doctor nodded. "You're pregnant. Now, I must ask... Are you in a stable relationship?" Her voice was soft and soothing.

She smiled and nodded her head, her right hand moving to her left to play with the silver band, embedded with ruby and diamonds, that rested on her wedding finger. "I'm due to be wed on the thirteenth of December," she confessed. "How far along am I, doc?"

"Well, Doctor Thompson, you're roughly seven weeks along. Are you nervous?" The other doctor gushed, leaning forward. "It's in two weeks!"

"Feel a little queasy now, if I'm honest." Rowan laughed, tossing her head back. "Now, am I healthy enough to be carrying a baby?"

The doctor hummed in thought. "I'm going to prescribe you some prenatal vitamins. Be careful when taking any form of medicine - no medicine is one hundred per cent safe for the baby. So if you have any pains, such as a headache, think of other ways of stopping your pain - don't immediately go for the hedex or the paracetamol. Try and wait it out. I'd recommend you eat plenty of protein but make sure meats are cooked to _death_ - raw or undercooked meat is especially bad for you and the little one."

"All right - thanks, doc." Rowan pushed herself up from the chair and shook the woman's hand. "Guess I'm going to ask Richard for some time off, aye?" She laughed. "I hope he doesn't replace me."

"I don't think he will, dear," the older woman reassured her. "You're the best ENT surgeon we have! What's your success rate?"

"Hundred per cent," Rowan admitted shyly. "At Otology."

"Ah, I love how humble you are," The woman sighed. "You're an absolute star, but you're so humble too. Oh, brilliant. Does that transfer over to the nose and throat as well?"

Rowan shook her head. "Ninety eight in nose and ninety-nine in throat." Rowan laughed, coughing slightly as the woman began to clap.

"Oh, so brilliant! So young, too - you're only twenty-three, correct? You're our resident genius, right?" Rowan nodded, ducking her head to hide her crimson face. "All right - here's your prescription slip, love, and tell me how your fiancé reacts." The woman winked. "Oh - wait, here is a fact file on what's good, what's bad, and how to cope with impending morning sickness and all that lovely business."

Rowan smiled and nodded, taking the file and prescription slip.. "Good bye, doc. See you in a month!"

The woman found her car and drove the chemists. She handed the slip to the woman behind the counter, sighing. Did Gregory even want children? Sure, they were having unprotected sex, but that didn't mean he wanted children. It just meant he found rubbers restrictive. "Thanks," Rowan mumbled, taking the medication. "Have a good day."

She got back into her car and put her head in her hands. Did _she_ want children?

Did it make her a bad person if she said no?

* * *

She got home in record time - they still lived in Scotland, near her parents. Freda and Frederick both still lived in their house with Anna - Gregory and Rowan had moved in together when he turned eighteen. They'd rented a tiny flat above a shop for a while, piling their money up while living rather poorly. She didn't go to Liverpool for University - instead she stayed close, finding one that was only four or five miles away from her flat. They soon had plenty of money to move out, but Gregory had waited until she graduated University to show her their new home.

It was a shock to see the whitewashed stone of their new home, but a welcome one. It had five bedrooms - Gregory had claimed that it was for Anna, Rudolph and Tony, one spare if he was put into the dog house, but she privately hoped it was for any children they may have.

She pulled up to the drive and took the files with her inside. Gregory worked from seven until three o'clock - she worked eight until six o'clock. Not the best hours for their child, but if Gregory owned the amount of the Sackville-Bagg Corporation as the heir, she was sure he could get paid leave from work long enough for the baby to be six months, right? She wasn't allowed to work as a surgeon from twenty five weeks, apparently, so she'd become a consultant until she was at thirty weeks. Then she was off work for as long as she needed, allowed to work part-time until the baby was a year and a half old. _I can do this._

She sighed, biting her lip and kicking her boots off at the door.

"Gregory?" she called. "I'm home - I had to stop by the chemist. I have something I need to tell you..."

"In the living room, love!"

She released a long breath and nodded her head. _I can do this. _She walked into the living room with a wide smile, blinking when she saw Gustav and Eduard on the sofa. "Hello!" she greeted, leaning down to give them individual hugs. "Well, if you're here too, I'll tell all three of you."

"Tell us what, love?" Gregory asked, leaning back in the plush armchair.

She took another breath. "I'm pregnant."

Silence.

Gregory's eyes rolled back in his head and he slipped down in the chair. _He fucking fainted. _Rowan's face dropped.

Gustav began to laugh, batting Eduard away when he began to cough. "How far along?" His voice was weathered with age - he was nearing ninety now and it was beginning to show.

"Seven weeks," Rowan smiled nervously. "So I'm going to have a little belly for my wedding."

"And it will be the best little belly there," Gustav promised. "Gregory!" he suddenly shouted - Gregory shot up, his eyes wild.

"Where's the fire?" he yelped, standing up. "Oh - wait - _pregnant?_ Really?" He turned to Rowan with wide eyes

"Seven weeks," she admitted, shuffling her feet. Eduard chuckled and stood. "It's why I was late home."

"But we don't have a nursery!" Gregory fretted. "Or a car with four seats! Oh, what will father say - we're not married yet! Shotgun wedding! Bastard baby!"

"My baby is not a bastard!" Rowan hissed outraged.

Eduard and Gustav began to laugh. "Come, come, little lady - give me a hug." Eduard said, pulling Rowan into his chest. "We'll leave you and Gregory alone - would you like us to tell Freda and Frederick?"

Gregory paled. "Oh god, no. Mum will kill me. She made me promise we were having safe sex." Gregory groaned loudly. "Grandpa, we'll need your help making a nursery, okay? Rowan won't be doing anything in her condition - I'm not risking _anything__. _A little baby!" he cooed, clapping his hands together. "My little baby! Oh, I hope it's a little girl. She'll be the most spoilt little princess _ever_."

Rowan smiled, relieved. _He wasn't upset_. "When will we be telling our parents?" she asked, hugging Eduard fiercely before moving on to Gustav.

"Well, we're going to theirs for tea in half an hour, so maybe then?" Gregory suggested, reminding Rowan of that dinner agreement.

"Oh, bollocks." She shot up the stairs, changing out of her clothing and into something a little more elegant. "Okay, ready!" she called.

She heard Gustav's distinctive laugh and smiled, one hand going to her belly. _Maybe this won't be so bad._

* * *

Anna answered the door with a wide, beaming smile, throwing herself at Rowan. "Flint proposed!" Anna gushed, dragging her inside to the house. Rowan gave Flint McAshton an awkward nod - she still refused to treat him like a member of the family, despite Tony's newfound friendship with the other man. Despite the pity she once felt for him, she didn't like him.

"Congratulations, hun. Do you want me to leave my announcement until later?" Rowan whispered into her ear. Anna shook her head. "_I'm pregnant._"

Anna let out a loud shout. "Really?" she shrieked, releasing her. Rowan grinned, Gregory coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her stomach. "Oh, how wonderful! I can put that into my novel!"

Rowan snorted, throwing her head back into Gregory's chest. Anna had taken English Language, Literature, History and German at A-level. She was now a world-renowned author - known best for her series _The Little Vampire_, where she recounted her life up to the introduction of the Thompsons. Names had been changed, obviously, but it was, essentially, a dramatised autobiography. Her real age of eighteen was hidden through a helpful pseudonym - Anna McAshton. Tony had scowled at that.

Rudolph greeted them with a jaunty wave, stepping into the dining room. Tony sighed and waved too, following behind. The pair was absolutely clueless about what to do with themselves, although Tony had ideas of becoming an artist and Rudolph was interested in Medicine.

Anna grabbed Flint and said, "Dinner's being served. You're just in time!"

They entered the dining room and sat down, Dottie and Bob rising to hug their daughter and Freda doing the same to Gregory. They all sat down as Frederick brought out platters of food, Rowan next to the already-seated Gustav and Eduard.

"Now, before the meal begins, I have an announcement to make." Anna said, standing up. "I've been with Flint for five years now and he's... Well, we're engaged."

"How lovely!" Freda beamed. Rowan started to clap and soon others followed. "I wish you the best."

"I have an announcement, too!" Gregory stated, pulling Rowan up. She blushed and coughed awkwardly - Gustav and Eduard both began to laugh again. "I'm pregnant!" Gregory gushed, before realising what he said and back-tracking. "Wait - _we're_ pregnant!"

Rowan was giggling, leaning into his side. "I'm roughly seven weeks along," she expanded. "Baby. Me. Gregory. Pregnancy." she explained further, as Bob's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Bob groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "You're having a bastard."

"Why do people keep calling my baby a bastard?! We'll be married by the time it's born!" Rowan muttered, sitting down. "It's not like it's a shotgun wedding, either - it's been in planning for two damn years! We've been together for seven!"

"Congratulations, honey," Dottie beamed. "But Tony, if you bring home a pregnant girl, I'll kill you."

Tony choked on his own spit. "Mom!"

"Congratulations," said Frederick gruffly. "I hope you don't suffer horribly with morning sickness, like Freda did with Gregory. That was agony."

"Gregory was agony," Freda laughed. "But didn't you promise no unprotected sex, son?"

"Well - you see - erm..." Gregory floundered.

* * *

They had a white wedding, just like Rowan had hoped.

Snow fluttered from the sky, big and chunky, sticking to the already existing snow. She was shivering with the cold, but it was how she wanted it.

Bob took her arm and she beamed, walking down the aisle, her stomach fluttering.

* * *

Gregory gasped, holding Rowan's hand tightly. "Is that - is that my baby?"

Rowan turned to look at the ultrasound screen. She saw one defined blob, but there was something to the side of it as well. Unless her baby had floating limbs in her stomach, there was something else in there with it. She listened for the monitor to relay the heart beat again, and she heard two thumps - one following in quick tandem. "Two babies."

"Two babies," the ultrasound technician echoed. "Two hearts, see? Two hearts, two babies. Congratulations, Mrs. Sackville-Bagg, Mr. Sackville-Bagg - we can't determine gender yet, but you're having twins! There doesn't seem to be any abnormalities with either of them, but this little devil in front is making it hard for me to see the other baby. The only thing I can say is that you need to eat a lot more as you're now eating for three, and no strenuous lifting. Plenty of sleep, and perhaps have your hours cut at the hospital."

Gregory nodded. "I'll take on more hours at work to deal with the losses, okay?"

"No, you won't. Richard has offered me a consultant position - I just need to take a crash course and I'll be working as a consultant full time." Rowan smiled. "It's a bit more money as well, because I'll be doing private patients."

"So you're currently... at twelve weeks. Come back again at sixteen weeks." The ultrasound nurse wiped the jelly from Rowan's stomach and the blonde woman sat up. "How's the morning sickness?"

Rowan groaned. "It shouldn't be called bloody _morning_ sickness. It should just be called pregnancy sickness - I puke when I wake up, I puke when I smell coffee, I puke when I smell wine, I puke when I smell car exhausts. I can't hold anything down apart from black tea at the moment and I fucking _hate_ black tea. I have three cups a day with every meal, in the hope it'll hold down some substance - I'd drink it all the damn time if I wasn't terrified of the impacts of caffeine on my babies."

Rowan carried on heatedly, the nurse smiling. "I thought this pregnancy thing was going to be a blast when I didn't experience the dreaded 'morning sickness' - and suddenly, _suddenly_ it hits me. End of the first trimester, they say, it'll be over, they say - _it's just bloody began_. And don't get me started on the random hair growth - or even the blood in my snot. Or even the constant, aching pain in my boobs!"

"Well," The woman gave Rowan a sympathetic look. "You're heading into the second trimester. Your breasts will continue to get bigger and the nipples even more tender. Buy a softer tooth brush as well, because your gums will be following the blood in your snot. You're going to experience dizziness, leg cramps, shortness of breath, bladder and kidney infections..."

"Beautiful." Rowan muttered drily.

* * *

The ultrasound technician focussed mainly on the prominent baby. "Oh," She laughed. "Would you like to know the gender of this little one?"

Rowan and Gregory shared a look before simultaneously saying, "Yes."

"Well, this little one is _definitely_ a little boy. See?" Rowan stared at the grey blob with the splayed legs. "He wants you to know it, it seems," The woman laughed. "And the other one is a... little girl. Congratulations, dear. A boy and a girl."

Rowan grinned. "Could we have a picture of them?"

"Certainly!" The woman focussed the wand on the first one and then moved onto the second.

"I guess we can start on the nursery properly now, right? The room's big enough for the both of them. Are we going stereotypical blue-boy and pink-girl?" Gregory asked quietly while the nurse did what she did.

"Hell no!" Rowan laughed. "I don't want my babies to be stifled by gender stereotypes. If my baby girl likes cars, she'll have her damn cars! If my baby boy wants a pink tea set, he'll get his pink tea set and anything else he wants! I was thinking more cream or brown, to match the wooden flooring. And white. White would be great."

"That's a good start," the nurse said, handing her a brown envelope. "Off you go, dear."

* * *

"Another announcement!" Rowan chirped. "Sorry, mum, you're not getting a boy and then two twin boys." Rowan winked, referring to 'that' conversation seven long years ago. "Instead you're getting twins... but take a guess at the gender."

Dottie clapped her hands together, Anna quickly following. "I'm going to say... Double boys." Dottie leant back in the chair.

"Going to go with your mother on this way," Bob shrugged. "Congratulations, honey."

"Double girls," Frederick said smugly. "Like Lily and Lucy."

"I agree with father," Anna said, smiling. "History of twin girls in our family."

Freda nodded - she agreed with Frederick and Anna.

"One boy, one girl." Tony and Rudolph said together, the pair of them grinning at each other.

Gregory placed the two pictures on the table - one of the little man, with his legs flung apart - and the other of the demure little girl, legs tightly closed. "Well?" Frederick snapped.

Rowan pointed to her little exhibitionist. "One boy," She pointed to the next picture. "One girl."

Rudolph and Tony let out little shouts of excitement, which sent Rowan into hysterics. "I have my next scan at twenty four weeks. I'll be even bigger then - estimated size of a soccer - ball."

Rowan looked down at her stomach in shock. She felt something... move. She gently prodded the bump and erupted into laughter when something kicked back. She poked the other side of the bump and felt something flutter - and then one of them kicked again.

"What is it love?"

She lifted her shirt up, revealing her distended stomach. She had a large, gold swirl curling from underneath her trousers to her bellybutton - something the Fae had 'gifted' her with for ruining their all-seeing nonsense. They certainly hadn't predicted Charles killing Rookery - something which had given them all a good laugh. They had stripped Rowan of her abilities, which she was incredibly thankful for, but left her one extra surprise - and as the swirl darkened with every day of her pregnancy, she was terrified to find out what the surprise was. If her babies were too short to be human, or had daft pointed ears - if they had anything wrong, she would be down on the Fae like a tonne of bricks.

Despite the whole 'dream dimension' thing.

She gently poked her belly again and quickly placed Gregory's hand on the place. He let out a loud gasp when something pushed against him. "They're kicking?" he asked - Rowan jumped when the room exploded in noise.

"Can I try?" she heard. "_No_, me!"

* * *

"We're never having sex _again_!" she screeched, her hair sweaty and plastered to her body. She let out a sharp yell and cried, "I don't fucking _care_ if you don't want me to push - I'm fucking _pushing_!"

The nurses floundered, trying to stop her from pushing while at the same time prepare for the first child being born. "You're doing absolutely brilliantly, love," Gregory tried to soothe, but his face was drawn with pain. "Come on - you can do it."

"I **know** I can fucking do it, Gregory!" Rowan roared, her eyes balling up in pain and one lone tear falling on her gown. "This is why I don't want children," she muttered pathetically as the push wasn't fruitful. "It fucking hurts."

"Don't think like that, love." Gregory sighed, brushing a strand of hair away from her sweaty face.

"And why not, aye? I've only just started working properly and I've already fucked it up by getting pregnant!"

Rowan let out another screech as a contraction rippled through her again. She cried out loudly - quickly followed by the nurses gasping and picking up a still, bloodied baby. The nurses cleaned and tapped the baby as it let out a wet cough - before the sound of it's wailing pierced the room.

"Little boy," the nurse beamed, wrapping him tightly in a blue blanket. "Born at eleven o'five, July thirty-first. Congratulations. Do you have a name in mind?"

"Alexander Charles Sackville-Bagg," Gregory smiled warmly at the little bundle, but didn't move to hold the child. "Just one more now, love."

And ninety four seconds later, another cry joined in.

"Rosemary Louise Sackville-Bagg," Gregory told the nurse, finally accepting the screaming baby, the nurse giving the little girl to Rowan. "Thank you, love. Thank you."

Rowan groaned. "Don't be soppy, now - that's _so_ off putting." She accepted the little girl and wrinkled her nose.

Newly born babies looked so disgusting.

"When will they stop looking like red potatoes?"

* * *

_**Et fin. Their future is down to you guys.**_


End file.
